Pop Goes The World
by Devilish Kurumi
Summary: AUfic. Ongoing just a little waltz through an idea of mine. Slash, Het, Femmeslash. Takes place in a modern setting, with modern schools, relationships, and problems. [Amarant is, of course, a main character. Not a Highschool fic, really.]
1. Leaving on a Jet Plane

A/N: I shouldn't be doing this. I need to write the other fics. Oh well.

I got the idea of Treno being a nightclub from Karu Leonnese. She kind of inspired me, along with Zarla, to do my own AU fic. Well, here goes my feeble attempt at making something weird.

* * *

_"It's been two years! It's time to let go, son."_

He snorts, adjusting the two boxes in his arms. Fucking time to let go – maybe when you're about to get remarried, but that doesn't mean _he_ has to forget.

_"We're not exactly in a very good economical position. There are people who need this stuff more than us. Your mother would have wanted it this way."_

No, _mother_ would have wanted him to go to college, _mother_ wouldn't want him to go into the military. _Mother_ wouldn't have wanted to disappear from the mantle.

_"There's a resale shop downtown that always looks empty. Maybe they'll pay for it all."_ Then, _"You know, it's not as if I don't want to remember her! Don't give me that, you little punk. You see? This is the kind of shit that makes me think the military would only do you good."_

"Give you a fist in the face, you asshole," he growls, glaring at the storm clouds. Why in God's name does everything have to be so _miserable_ today? Even the goddamned radio had been belting out depressing teen-angst songs and then the oldies station – mom's favorite – had been playing all those depressing songs about car crashes in the rain and unchained melodies and shit. Fucking hell, he doesn't want to do this.

He thinks, briefly, of just shoving the boxes into the bed of his truck, covering them with the tarp, and pretending it was just another damned pile of wood for when he went back to the desert. But no, his father was expecting some form of money, and he grudgingly admits that his father's right – they _aren't_ in a good financial position.

The resale shop is lodged between a Rico's Mexican Food and a discount bookstore. It _does_ look empty – the windows have wood over the bottom and the selection of hats in the window looks a little bland.

He looks down at the boxes and sighs, using his shoulder to open the door. A bell above rings, but doesn't draw attention from the blonde boy at the register. His back is turned and he's bobbing his head in time to loud, frazzled music coming from his headphones. He's playing with one of those miniature skateboards, performing ollies and grinding along the edge of a pencil supported by two books. He rolls his eyes and goes to the counter, dropping the boxes down.

With a shout of confusion, the boy drops the skateboard and falls off of the stool, jumping up and pulling his headphones off. He realizes that the music is Guns 'N' Roses, and wonders if the kid even knows who the hell Axl Rose is.

"Sorry," the blonde boy apologizes, "Didn't hear you come in! Um, what can I do for you?"

"I'm here to sell this crap," he grumbles, feeling the words sting.

"Oh, cool. Um, let me get my brother. He handles all of the money stuff." The boy grins, "He thinks I'm going to pocket the money or something. Paranoid, huh?" Without waiting for an answer, he shouts, "Hey, Kuja!" A moment of silence and then, "_Kuja!_"

"Coming," a softer, older voice responds from behind a door marked "Staff Only" and covered in random cutouts from magazines. It creaks open, and amidst laughter, two girls come out.

One is deeply tanned and has brown hair. She's wearing a black tube top that's about two sizes too small and a slinky little skirt. He rolls his eyes.

The other, however, has long silver-dyed hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, with a much larger gray sweatshirt and black slacks. She looks at the blonde boy with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you _want_, Zidane?"

He blinks and looks back to the two boxes. Okay, so, the silver-haired one is a _guy_, he can work with that. After all, he's seen worse...

Not really, but he'll pretend for the sake of his good name.

"_Amarant!_" the brown haired girl exclaims, eyes widening.

He winces.

"What are _you_ doing here!" She flounces over to him and clings to his arm. "I thought you stayed away from places like this!"

"I do," Amarant grumbles. "But dad needs to sell some stuff."

The girl, consequently, leans over and looks into one of the boxes, grin turning into a frown. "Wait... Isn't this...?" She looks at Amarant and he looks to the silver-haired man.

"So, what do you have?" Kuja asks, crossing his arms. He looks content with the current events, and Amarant wonders if there's time to back out.

"...Just some dresses and crap." He pushes one of the boxes towards the other male, who sifts around in it with a disinterested glance.

That is, until he sees lace.

His eyes get wide and he grins, pulling the white gown from the bottom of the box of clothes.

"Oh my _god_," he exclaims, "This is _gorgeous_! Who would want to sell this to a shithole like here!"

"My dad," Amarant mutters to himself, arms crossed. The brown haired girl blinks.

"Wait, your _dad's_ making you sell this!" she whispers, "What an asshole!"

"Lani, my dad isn't an asshole, he's a fucking soulless son of a bitch," Amarant hisses, "Now shut up and let me sell it." He turns to Kuja and nods, "So, how much?"

"...You want to sell this?" Kuja asks, confused. "Most of the time, the wedding dress isn't..."

"It _is_. Now, how _much_?"

He looks at it for a long time, and finally says, "Two hundred dollars."

"_Kuja!_" Zidane exclaims, "What the hell are you doing!"

"Shut _up_, little brother." He motions to the gown, "This is _beautiful_. You don't buy beauty cheap. Your little girlfriend can explain it to you later." He looks at Amarant, "Keep in mind, I'm not going to put this up in the shop."

"_What_!"

"Zidane, shut _up_! I'm going to bring it into class," he tells Amarant, "I want to have my professor look at it."

"Kuja's a _fashion_ major," Lani tells Amarant, who rolls his eyes; figures. "He's the best – his designs are so _pretty_."

"Lani, stop it," Kuja laughs, "You're ostracizing me from the big guy."

"...Two hundred dollars...?" Amarant finally asks, "Are you sure?"

"Of _course_ I am. Who's the designer, anyways? This is fabulous, but I can't find a tag..."

Amarant frowns. "My mom made it herself."

"_Really_? Why is she selling it, if that's the case?"

Amarant looks away, and Lani responds, voice low, "His mom died two years ago."

Kuja looks like he's just committed the worst social faux pas ever, and flushes. "Oh, um... I'm... I'm sorry. You shouldn't sell this." He pushes the dress into Amarant's arms, "Why in the world would you want to get rid of it?"

"I _don't_," the redhead growls, looking down at the lacy, white gown in his hands. "My dad's getting remarried and doesn't want _Susan_ to come into a house filled with his ex-wife's stuff."

"What an asshole!" Zidane exclaims.

"Watch your mouth," Kuja snaps, "What would dad say if he came in here and heard you swearing like that around customers!"

"He'd say the same damned thing," the blonde crosses his arms, "That's not cool. Could you see _dad_ selling any of mom's stuff?"

"Zidane, that's enough," Kuja growls, silently motioning for him to shut up. The boy does, which surprises Amarant. "I'll buy the dress for two hundred and both boxes for a hundred."

"There's only a few dresses and some shoes and..."

"Yeah, I don't care," Kuja waves a hand, "I normally wouldn't even buy the stuff, not if it means a lot to people..." The silver haired man shrugs. "But your dad probably wants monetary gain for this stuff, right?"

Amarant nods, dumbfounded.

"Then will three hundred be enough?"

"...Yeah. I guess..."

Kuja reaches under the counter and pulls out a check book, writing out a check. "Don't worry," he adds, smiling, "I'm going to make sure nothing _touches_ this dress. And if you ever want it back..."

"I won't," Amarant frowns, looking at the check now in his hand. "...It's time to move on. What good is a wedding dress to me?" He raises an eyebrow, "It's not like it fits _me_. My hips are too big."

Kuja's eyes widen, and then he laughs, covering his mouth with a hand. Amarant smirks, and nods to Lani, "See you."

"Bye, Ama'!"

He leaves the store with a crumpled check and feels as if he's leaving half of himself behind.

* * *

Amarant finds himself wishing that he had a copy of Guns 'N' Roses as he heads back home. He grips the steering wheel with one hand and uses the other to flip through his stack of CDs. Between Smashing Pumpkins, Eminem, and Captain Jack, there isn't a whole lot to listen to. The radio blasts out some teenage pop hit, and he growls, glancing at the road. 

"_Shit_!"

He slams on the breaks and turns the wheel, truck rocking violently as it skids to a stop, just missing a little boy in a huge hat. The boy looks as if he's just come within inches of death – which isn't far off. He forgot that the speed limit in the neighborhood was only thirty five, not _fifty_.

He climbs down and goes in front of the boy, kneeling down. "Hey, are you alright!"

The boy stares up at him and manages a small squeak.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're _doing_!"

Amarant looks up to see a woman with platinum blonde hair running towards him, eyes flashing angrily. "You could have _killed_ him! What the _fuck_!"

"What the fuck was he doing in the street? Are you watching him?" Amarant stands, and the woman continues to glare, not put off by his size. "You fucking _moron_, who lets a kid into the street!"

"I-I-I'm sorry, Freya!" the boy cries, "I didn't mean to run out, but I thought I saw..." He looks over at the other side of the street, then shakes his head. "I-I'm sorry."

"Vivi," the woman – Freya – sighs, dropping down to her knees, "It's not your fault. _He_ should have been watching the road." She glares at Amarant, who crosses his arms.

"No moron would let the kid run into the street," he growls, before looking at the kid again. "Are you okay?"

"...Y-Yes, sir," he mumbles, looking at the ground, "S-Sorry."

"It's not your fault," Amarant grumbles, "Just pay attention." He gets up and heads back to his truck. The woman follows him, pale skin flushing with rage.

"Where are _you_ going!" she shouts, "You might've caused psychological damage!"

"With a babysitter like you," Amarant throws over his shoulder, "I doubt he's not used to it." He gets in and slams the door, turning on the car and putting it into reverse. The woman yells something and then grabs the boy's hand, dragging him out of the way. Amarant takes off, eyes narrowed.

God, why is today miserable?

* * *

Zidane bobs his head along with the music, eyes closed. Techno always makes him want to dance, but when Kuja's around, he feels like he needs to be on his best behavior – at least, while the other's in work-mode. His brother is a type-A personality and he himself is a type-B, which makes them both great brothers, but not fun to work with. 

He feels a hand on his shoulder and pushes his headphones down, spinning on the stool to face his girl. He grins, _My girl. Man, never thought I'd get _that_ one._

"Hey, babe." He wraps his arms around the giggling black haired girl, pulling her into his lap. "How's your weekend been?"

"Miss Garnet!"

Zidane winces, and looks at the bulky man in a suit with mild annoyance. "Oh, hey, old man. How's it going?"

"O-Old!"

"Zidane," Garnet chides, "Don't make fun of Steiner."

"Sorry," he apologizes with a grin, "It's just too easy." He kisses her cheek, "Really, how was your weekend?"

"It was fine. I'm sorry you couldn't come over yesterday, but father..."

"It's cool," he shrugs, "I know your dad doesn't like you dating a bad boy."

"He _admits_ to it!" Steiner exclaims, pointing.

"Oh, little brother, you're simply bad to the _bone_."

Lani giggles and Kuja leans against the doorframe of the staff room, eyebrow raised. Zidane grins.

"Um, sorry, Kuj'. You know me and Dagger never get time alone..."

"With good reason!" Steiner shouts.

"Please don't yell in my shop," Kuja drawls, looking vaguely menacing. "And my brother is probably the least worrisome boy your little princess could be dating."

"Yeah!" Zidane exclaims, "I could be that big guy with the dreadlocks!"

"You mean Amarant?" Lani asks, grinning, "He's a real ass sometimes."

Garnet looks from Zidane to Steiner, then sighs. "Steiner, could you go get me a tall mocha from the Starbucks down the street?"

"...W-Why, of course..." The bodyguard backs out and then dashes away.

"Oh man, that guy is a piece of _work_," he chuckles, before leaning Garnet back. She squeaks in surprise, and he ducks his head in, kissing her.

"Zidane," Kuja warns, "Remember, you're on the clock."

"Oh, come _on_," the younger brother complains, "I never get any time with Dagger!"

"Isn't her name _Garnet_?" Kuja asks, rolling his eyes, "Why in the world would you call her such a stupid name?"

"That's between _me_ and my _girlfriend_," Zidane drawls. "Hey, how long does it take a bodyguard to get a coffee?"

Garnet shrugs. "It's two in the afternoon – there's bound to be a line. Maybe half an hour?"

Zidane stands up, carrying the black haired girl with him. "Well, when can we ditch him?"

"_Zidane_," she chides, "We can't just leave your store _and _Steiner..."

Kuja rolls his eyes. "Take the back door," he says, pointing through the staff room. Zidane grins, but Garnet looks nonplused as he puts her down.

"What about..."

"We'll take care of him," Lani grins, "Hurry, though."

"Thanks, bro!" Zidane calls as the two run out.

Lani hops up onto the counter. "Ah, young love," she sighs.

"Yeah, _gross_, isn't it?"

Lani laughs, rolling her eyes. "Only _you_ would say something like that. So, what are you going to do with that dress, really?" Kuja looks at her, and she continues, "I know you aren't just going to keep it for posterity. What, are you going to wear it to Treno?"

Kuja rolls his eyes. "Oh, yes, because a club like that deserves a dress like _that_. No, I was serious. I'm going to take it to class and get criticism on it, and then I'm going to build off of it." He waves a hand, "There could be some alterations made. I'll sketch the basics out and then modify."

"I thought you said you wouldn't let anyone touch it?"

"I'm not _going_ to. I'm going to make a copy." He grins, pulling his hair out of it's ponytail, "After all, I wouldn't be any good if I didn't know how to remake something." He slips her a sly look, "So, who _was_ that guy, anyways? A lover of yours?"

Lani laughs, shaking her head. "Amarant? No, we're just friends. I lived next to him for most of high school." She smiles, fondly, "He's a really nice guy. Real good with animals."

"Nice isn't the word _I'd_ use," Kuja responds, eyebrows raising, "He looked vicious."

Lani rolls her eyes. "Not unless you get on his bad side. He's really callous and rude to people, but once you've known him long enough, he gets nice." She smirks, "I'm the only one he's ever let cling to him like that. Even his ex got pushed away."

"Where does he go now? Or is he out of college?"

"He never went." Lani sighs, "It's too bad. He's pretty smart, and wanted to do a lot of stuff, but his mom got sick and they used his college funds to pay for her hospital bills..."

"Oh, that's... that's horrible," Kuja frowns, "Now I feel _really_ stupid for asking him about his mother."

"He didn't take it personally, I can tell you that. He really loved his mom, though – his dad's a real _jerk_. Ama's been living with him because any work he has ends up paying for food and electricity. His dad doesn't have a job."

"That's a shame." Kuja sighs. "Those kinds of stories depress me. Can you imagine, living with people who don't care, and the people who _did_ died?"

"Hey, _I_ care!"

"How often do you see him?" Kuja asks, "You're always performing or working on performing, or hanging out with me."

"I see him every so often," Lani says guiltily, "Like, once or twice over a few weeks."

"It's depressing," Kuja repeats. "Maybe we should hang out with him sometime?"

"Hah, and go where, _Treno_?" Lani chuckles, "He wouldn't be caught dead with either of us. He likes to keep his tough guy image."

"Well, couldn't he play tough with us? I mean, every tough guy has a woman or two."

"_You're_ not a woman."

"Well, yes, but he thought I was, so it counts." Kuja sighs. "What, you don't think he'd want to?"

"Kuja, please don't tell me you think Ama's _hot_."

"...Fine, I won't."

Lani laughs, full on. "_Kuja_!" she exclaims, "He's one hundred percent _hetero_. He doesn't swing on the fence, he chases skirts, he eats at _Taco Bell_."

"That's the most disgusting euphemism for being hetero I've ever heard," Kuja makes a face, "Besides, isn't that exactly what you said about my _last_ squeeze?"

"Well, yeah, but let's face it, Gilgamesh was hard to read in general! I can't be right _all _the time."

Their conversation is interrupted as Steiner bursts back in, holding a small cup of coffee in his grasp.

"Miss Garnet – where is she!" he shouts, looking around in shock.

"They left," Kuja drawls, looking at his nails idly.

"_What_? _Where did they go_!"

"That way," Kuja points to the left, as Lani echoes him and points to the right. They look at each other, and then shrug, pointing straight out the front door. "That way," they chime in unison.

"If her father finds out...!" Steiner runs back out and disappears.

The two college students look at each other, and then laugh.

* * *

All I own is the laptop I wrote this on. The characters and all related trademarks are (c) Square. 


	2. Darwin

A/N: Man, I'm just bullshitting my way through this thing. Next chapter of Deepest Blue is coming, bitches.

Gotta keep truckin'.

* * *

Amarant stares blankly at the TV screen, watching the Daily Show with only the most vague interest. The cigarette smoke hangs in the air and mingles with the smell of old food and damp towels, and he leans his back against the foot of his bed, watching the television. 

He can hear Susan downstairs, cackling like an old hen, and his dad laughing deeply. They're probably talking about the wedding. He feels his stomach knot up and takes a long drag from his smoke, closing his eyes.

What a great way to spend a Sunday night.

The live audience laughs and Susan laughs too.

He just makes it to his bathroom before throwing up.

* * *

Zidane and Garnet sit, side by side, at the bus stop, watching the rain come down around them. 

"Well, I guess we could've picked up an umbrella at the dollar store," Zidane drawls, putting an arm around Garnet, "But overall, I think this went pretty good."

"I'm worried about Steiner. What if father finds out I ran away again?"

The boy shrugs, looking unworried. "Who cares? He's gotta let you go someday, right? Why not now?"

They look out at the people hurrying past, and soon the bus arrives. It stops and opens its doors, and Zidane stands. "What are you doing?" Garnet asks, blinking.

He holds out a hand. "I was wondering if you wanted to go see a movie. I mean, we've already evaded the old man this long, why not try for a real date for once?"

She looks around, blushing. "I don't know, Zidane..."

"Miss Garnet!"

The two teens look over to see Steiner at the end of the block, running towards them.

"C'mon, Dagger!" Zidane shouts, and the girl races up the steps behind the boy. The doors shut and the bus pulls away just as Steiner reaches the stop. Zidane laughs, "Good! Lost him, for sure. Now, babe, what movie should we see?"

"Zidane, I feel bad," Garnet mumbles, leaning against him as he holds onto the rail over their heads. "He's just doing his job."

"He shouldn't let his job interfere with what makes _you_ happy. Would you like to see a movie, honestly? If not, I can pull the chord and we can go back."

The girl looks up at Zidane, frowning. The boy is so strange – one minute he eggs you on, attempting to get you to do something you might regret; but the next, he's telling you your options are open and he's okay with them all. She's never met anyone like him – everyone she's known until Zidane has either been much older, a public official, or too wrapped up in school to actually care about anything else.

"...I would," she confesses, "But I feel bad for leaving him there."

"Oh, don't worry about him. He's probably going to catch the next bus and come after us. I'll have you home by curfew, don't worry. Then, you can call him and tell him you're home, and your dad won't even know he lost you."

Garnet looks at Zidane, who smiles at her, and then smiles herself. "Alright, then. So long as it isn't one of those action movies you like so much." She makes a face, "I like plot."

"But then you have to _think_!" Zidane exclaims, grinning, "And movies are meant to be _fun_, not for brain damage." At the girl's look, he concedes, "Alright, alright. We'll go see something intellectual."

"Thank you, Zidane."

He kisses her, "Hey, anything for you."

* * *

Amarant groans and holds his stomach, sitting back against the cool tiles of his bathroom wall, scrubbing his mouth out with his toothbrush. He feels sick, but that was a one time thing – he isn't about to throw up again, just because of some bitch's voice. 

He sighs and looks at the ceiling, brushing idly. The way the silver haired man – Kuja, wasn't it? – the way he had admired his mother's wedding dress made him feel conflicted. On one hand, his mother's work was finally being appreciated – what she hadn't done for anyone but herself was going to get recognition from people. But it was his _mother_. Selling her dress was like selling _her_, and he can't figure as to why his father would want to do that at all. He hadn't known the dress was in there – he thought his father had some damned respect.

Susan laughs.

_Guess he doesn't_.

There's a knock at the door of the garage, and Amarant sighs, getting up and heading down the hall. He knows exactly who it is.

"Lani," he mumbles around his toothbrush. The brown-haired girl grins up at him, wearing a low cut black tank top and a deep purple skirt. Behind her, however, is Kuja. "What do you two want?" he asks, warily – he doesn't like that a stranger knows where he lives. Not when that stranger is a guy who looks so much like a girl that he could fool anyone, even in a tight purple turtleneck and tight leather pants.

"We're kidnapping you," she says easily, "Go put something better on."

"Better...?" He pulls out his toothbrush and looks at his sweat pants and wife-beater. "What are you talking about?"

"For God's sake," Lani exclaims, "Come _on_. Go get something nice on, we're going to Treno and I demand nothing short of perfection from you!"

"Goddamn it, Lani, I don't go clubbing. And you're not even twenty-one."

Kuja puts a finger to his lips. "Shh," he whispers loudly, "It's our little secret."

"God, like you didn't have a fake ID for half of high school."

There's the sound of movement down the hall, and Amarant frowns, looking inside. "Look," he says, "Go and have your clubbing adventure. I don't do clubs, and you should go before dad comes."

"Oh, who cares about that old geezer," Lani drawls, "You're twenty-three, goddamn it, you should start taking control!"

"I'm not getting into this," the redhead growls, closing the door. He nearly slams it shut on Kuja's hand before the other man applies force, pushing the door back open with relative ease.

"I'm sorry," Kuja apologizes, "I asked Lani to invite you. I... I don't know. I just wanted you to come. Are you sure you can't? I know you probably have prior engagements..."

Amarant feels his stomach churn, and looks back down the hall. He sighs, and leans against the doorframe, looking at Kuja's pleading expression. "I don't club."

"That's okay," the other insists, "They have good liquor."

"_Please_?" Lani asks from behind the half-closed door.

"...Fine. C'min, just don't let dad hear you. Fuck knows I don't need him being an asshole around me tonight." He lets the two in and Lani immediately heads for his room – Kuja follows easily and Amarant trails behind, stopping in the bathroom to rinse his mouth.

Kuja is pillaging his closet when he comes in, Lani digging around under his mattress.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asks the girl, who looks up at him with obviously fake innocence.

"I was just looking around for... um, I don't know. I just was looking."

"Goddamn it, woman, get the fuck out from under there," he growls, and she pulls away, sitting on the bed and pouting.

"Well, at least I know now what a horrible life I'd leave without any taste," Kuja drawls, digging through the pile of clothes. Amarant doesn't believe in hangers.

"If all you're going to do is insult my fashion sense, then you can leave."

Kuja looks aghast. "Why, I'd _never_ do that! I also would like to make fun of your organizational skills and make assumptions as to what Lani was looking for under your bed." He grins, and pulls out a pair of jeans from the bottom of the pile. "Other than a bit of wrinkling, I think these would do nicely. Lani, does he have any good shirts worth wearing?"

Lani shrugs, "Hey, the guy never goes anywhere he can't get into with sweatpants. I can't say he has much taste, Mr. I'm-The-Greatest-Fashionista-Ever."

"Fashonista?" Kuja asks, raising an eyebrow, "That's a new one. Anyways, put this on, you unorganized, probably perverted young man."

Amarant looks at the other male as he hands him the jeans and a black wifebeater, raising an eyebrow. He didn't even know he still had these jeans – they're a size smaller than he likes and have a few well placed rips on the legs.

"Well?" Kuja insists, "Time is money!"

The redhead shrugs and pulls his shirt off, replacing it with it's black counterpart. With a sigh, he looks at the two, "You're not going to leave so I can change, are you?" he asks.

The two look at each other, and then sit on the bed together, smiling in fakely innocent ways.

"...You _do_ realize I don't wear underwear if I can help it."

He swears their grins get bigger.

* * *

Amarant frowns as the two college students pull him out of the house. It's a miracle that his father hasn't heard them – not that he gives a shit what his father has to say but still. He doesn't want to know what he might say about Kuja, and he doesn't want Kuja to know either. It's not that he actually gives a shit about the other male – he just doesn't want anyone to talk to his father. Especially _tonight_. Not when his stomach still feels upset, not when he's on the fence, stuck between amused and disgusted. 

"You have your keys, right, Ama'?"

He looks at Lani, eyebrow raised. "How'd you two get here?"

"We took the bus," Kuja drawls, "We live too close to campus and have too little money to get an actual _car_."

"Hell," Amarant mutters, digging out the keys he had tossed in his pocket as an afterthought, "I don't know if you both can even fit, it's not like it's clean or anything-"

"I've squeezed into smaller places," the male insists, "Come on."

So Amarant follows Kuja, and Lani follows Amarant. They manage to squeeze Kuja into the back seat behind Lani, and Amarant sighs, getting in and turning the truck on. They pull out of the driveway and then Amarant looks at the guy in back with a raised eyebrow, "Where, exactly, are we kidnapping myself to?"

"Oh, I don't know. How does Treno sound?"

"Sounds good to me!" Lani responds, not allowing Amarant to defend himself. "You know how to get there, don't you?"

"Just follow the sounds of drunken techno," the redhead grumbles, idly flipping the radio from station to station – all talk shows but anything's better than silence.

Kuja procures Amarant's CD case and flips through it. He looks interested and Amarant doesn't know why.

"You listen to _all_ of this?" the silver-haired male asks, blinking.

"Yeah," he responds, "Why would I buy it, otherwise?"

"But... It's so _weird_. Gypsy Kings, then Nirvana, Autumn to Ashes beside – who's this, Captain Jack? Celtic and rap, metal and garage."

"So?" He rolls his eyes, "What, are you unfamiliar with people who listen to things other than techno and AFI?"

Kuja laughs, "AFI? Do I look like an angsty teenager? I listen to _Vivaldi_."

"Vivaldi... I've got him downloaded. Four Seasons, remixes, some string compositions." Amarant shrugs, "It works well with the horses."

Lani grins, "Are you still doing part time at the ranch?"

The redhead grins, "What, like I'd give _that_ up? It's the only thing worth doing anymore."

"Ranch?"

The two share a look and then Lani turns in her seat, looking at the confused Kuja. "Amarant works on a ranch in the desert. What is it, every other week or something?" Amarant nods an affirmative. "He takes care of the horses that stay there – they're all either brought in from out of state or recently tamed. It's neat, he's a total animal person."

"How come that doesn't surprise me?" Kuja asks, looking vaguely surprised nonetheless.

"Hey, Ama', can I come with you next time you go up?" Lani asks, suddenly. Amarant raises an eyebrow.

"You sure you can? After all, you got all that fancy learnin' to do, with them books and stuff." He grins, "You can't hang out with uneducated folk like me."

"You're _crazy_," the girl laughs, "I can skip a few days. Besides, it's not like we're doing anything interesting... I'm on _scenery_ duty, can you _imagine_ that?"

"That's because Professor Cid wants you closer to him," Kuja drawls, "After all, you're a beautiful, young, barely-legal girl."

"And he's _what_, fifty-seven? I don't _think_ so. I don't need a scenery badge _that_ bad."

Amarant rolls his eyes, "Cute, first you talk about college, which I can't go to, and then you make references to the Boy Scouts, which I got kicked out of. Way to ostracize me, woman."

"Oh, you know you _love_ being the outcast."

The redhead glances into the rearview mirror and sees Kuja looking at him with the strangest expression on his face.

"What?" he asks, suddenly feeling self-conscious. He almost forgot about the other male – for a second he thought he and Lani had been alone.

"Nothing," the other waves a hand, "I just find you... interesting."

"Uh oh," Lani exclaims, "Watch out, next thing you know he's going to be sending you dead roses and love sonnets."

Amarant would laugh, but he doesn't know if Lani's joking.

* * *

Zidane puts an arm around Garnet's shoulders as they leave the movie theatre. "So, how did you like it?" he asks, sneaking a glance at the girl. She's smiling – that's good. He likes her when she smiles, and she doesn't do it nearly enough. 

"It was interesting. Sometimes I wonder how people come up with things like that..."

"Too bad it didn't have more _fighting_ in it. Like Fight Club. You liked that one, didn't you?"

Garnet flushes, and then giggles, "Yes, Zidane, I liked that movie. But I wanted _less_ fighting!"

"Well, when Hollywood decides to give us the proper ratio of fighting to plot, we'll have to definitely go see it." He sighs, "Do you want to get something to eat?"

She looks at her watch and frowns. "I'm going to be late home if we take too long..."

Zidane shrugs, smirking. She worries too much, too. Always worried about her family or her schoolwork or her position in the school government – he wonders why she likes him. He's so much more _relaxed_... he wonders why he surrounds himself with so many type A personalities.

"Don't worry about it, Dagger! I told you you'll get home on time, and you..."

He trails off.

At the end of the block, Steiner is standing with his arms crossed, next to a black jaguar. Garnet must see him too, because she suddenly stops, and bites her lip.

The bodyguard comes towards them fast, and they hold their ground – the date's over, time to let everything go.

"Hey, old man," Zidane drawls once the older man gets close enough.

Steiner punches him in the jaw, sending him reeling.

"Steiner!" Garnet exclaims as Zidane hits the ground with a thud, eyes wide. He can feel blood in his mouth.

"Get in the car," the bodyguard growls. She hesitates, looking to Zidane, and he grabs her wrist, eyes narrowed. "Get. In. The. _Car_."

She pulls away and, with one last look to her boyfriend, goes straight to the car and gets into the passenger's seat. Steiner reaches down with one hand and grabs Zidane by the collar of his Nirvana shirt, dragging him up to his face.

"Stay _away_ from Miss Garnet, you little _bastard_," he snarls, pushing the teenager away and stalking to the car. Zidane moves to follow but then stops, turning and spitting blood out of his mouth. The car revs to life and peels off, shooting down the street. The blonde wants to think he saw Garnet looking at him, but he knows better.

"Well, _fuck_," he growls, and spits again.

The walk back to the resale shop is long and boring – people look at him and he wonders if he's more messed up than he thinks.

The shop is dark and locked, but he has a key. He goes in and grabs his backpack and his skateboard, locking back up and taking off downhill, dodging pedestrians with only marginal interest in their whereabouts.

He gets to the apartment complex and carries his skateboard up the three flights of stairs – the elevator hasn't worked since before he and Kuja moved in – and leans against the door to their apartment, 145B.

"Kuja," he calls, thunking his head against the door, "Open up."

No answer.

"Kuja."

He must be out with Lani. Zidane growls and searches under the welcome mat – no key. "Fuck!"

He slides to the ground and sits against the door, looking at 144B, across the hall. "Damn it."

His backpack is open and he realizes that he left his math book at the shop. Not that he was planning on doing it, but still...

He reaches in and pulls out a paperclip – a few deft twists and he jams it into the lock, twisting it and hearing the pop as the door unlocks. He gets up and goes inside, slamming the door.

His face isn't too bad off – he has a nasty bruise where the old man punched him and one tooth in the very back is loose, but no big deal, he had to get it pulled eventually.

He lays down in bed and closes his eyes, falling into sleep with Garnet's smile in his mind.

* * *

Remember, quantity, not quality. 


	3. God Is A DJ

A/N: OH man I'm sorry I've been so reclusive lately, folks. Unfortunately, we just moved into a new house so I'm having trouble adjusting, considering that I still have like two boxes in my room to unpack and then all the DVDs and books in the second room. I seriously have like ten boxes full of just BOOKS. God.

Anyways this is what I give you. The ending is a little shitty but I'll make up for it next chapter. Cheers!

Dedicated to: Tyler – who may or may not read this, but haha, I figured he should get a chapter since he's so nice. He reminds me a lot of how Amarant is in this fic, animal wise, and his room is a lot like how Amarant's is in this fic. Hm. Maybe I'll con him into letting me take pictures. Who knows.

* * *

The thumping undertones of techno music echo even through the walls, seep out of the open door and wash over the line of clubbers waiting to get in. Amarant can't believe he's here, especially in jeans. Most people are wearing shiny material, tight pants or skirts, and tight shirts. But he's in jeans and a tee-shirt? How in the hell did this happen? 

"Don't look so nervous," Lani leans up and tells him, "They can smell fear."

"I'm not _nervous_. I don't give a shit. Why am I here?"

"Because I – Kuja too, Kuja and I wanted you to be," she tells him. "Now shut up and play nice until we get inside."

"Fine..."

The line moves – it's not exactly a long one, but it still makes Amarant annoyed – and Kuja calls out, grinning, "Freya!"

That name sounds familiar. A glance to the doors and he realizes why. "Oh, fuck me," he mumbles.

The blonde woman from earlier stands in front of the doors, arms crossed and smirk on her face. "Well, look who's here."

Kuja looks at Freya in confusion, "Do you know him?"

"Oh, I know him," she growls, eyes flashing even through her false smile. "Vivi could barely walk, you shook him up so bad."

He winces, "I didn't _mean-_"

"Of course, you didn't mean to," Kuja quickly cuts in, "Freya, dearest, he's sorry. He didn't mean to do it – it was a bad time for him. Please forgive him and let us in?"

Freya looks between the three, and then sighs. "...Fine," she mumbles, stepping to the side, "Fine. But if I _ever_ see you outside of this club, I'm going to _hurt_ you."

"Uh huh," Amarant mutters, and the three pass the blonde woman, who's eyes dig holes into their skulls.

"What in the hell did you do to get Freya so pissed off?" Kuja asks.

"Nearly hit some kid. Wasn't my fault, he ran into the road."

Lani rolls her eyes as a few guys call out to her and Kuja from the floor. "Kuja, go entertain the masses while I go get Amarant nice and shitfaced, would you?"

"Anything for you, doll." The silver-haired male slinks down the steps into the dance pit and is instantly swept up by a few guys.

"That's almost too weird," Amarant mumbles, "I need a drink. Or three."

Lani rolls her eyes and loops her arm through Amarant's, dragging him along the upper part of the floor, to the bar that spans most of the back wall. She leans over and waves to one of the bartenders, "We need alcohol!"

"You told me last time you didn't want to drink _ever again_," the bartender responds once he gets close enough, and Lani gives him a look. "The usual for you, and what about your boytoy here?"

"Fuck," Lani says suddenly, looking at Amarant. He's looking around the club and doesn't seem to be listening to anything. "What do you drink, Red?" she shouts, because it _is_ pretty loud.

He looks at her and then to the bartender, "Just get me a beer or something. _Surprise_ me."

"That's the wrong thing to ask," the bartender grins, but nods all the same, heading down towards the other end of the bar.

"This place is fucking _loud_," the redhead mumbles.

"Yeah, you get used to it. I'm glad you came, it's not good for you to stay all cooped up."

"Ain't like you're around anymore."

The bartender comes back with a bottle of Southern Comfort and two shot glasses, "I figured, since your tab is already so _big_," he tells Lani, who grins, "That you'd rather have something less expensive. So here." He puts the bottle down as well as the shot glasses, and then moves down the bar, looking to help some other people.

"Was that supposed to be a stab at my friendship-capacity?" the girl asks cheekily, pouring the drink until the shot glasses nearly overflow.

"Partially," the redhead responds and throws back the shot easily. Lani does the same, and he smirks, "No problem with that, huh?"

"It's not _that_ strong. And I've been drinking it almost every weekend since I met Kuja, so man, I have nothing left to stop me. My liver, she's rolled over and surrendered in typical college student style."

"There you go, rubbing in your college credits again." Amarant pours the next shot and they continue like this for a good half-hour, slowly but steadily emptying the bottle.

"You know, to be bluntly honest, I didn't think to invite you tonight." Lani waves a hand out at the floor, where Kuja's dancing with a dashing young man and playing up the fact that he _does_ look good in tight clothing. "That asshole wanted to invite you. Of course, since I'm such a good friend to everyone, I thought it would be nice if you tagged along."

Amarant nods, raising an eyebrow, smirking. "Of course," he drawls, pouring out another shot for himself, "It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that when I'm incredibly drunk my morals and good-standing sail out the window?"

"Of _course_ not!" she exclaims, looking struck.

"And of _course_ it has nothing to do with the fact that you'd love to fuck me?"

Lani tries to keep a straight face, "Oh, my _God_! I'm _scandalized_ here, really!" Her eyes level with him and he snorts, downing the shot. "Red, we had our time in star-crossed lover land, most of junior and senior year. Besides..." Another shot goes to her lips and she speaks into the alcohol, "I'm seeing someone."

"Oh, really?" He raises his eyebrows now, truly interested, "I wasn't serious, either way. Who _is_ your new toy? I hope he has insurance," he mumbles.

"I'll have you know that _she_ doesn't need insurance, she's just as mentally fucked up as I am."

Amarant blinks, and then shakes his head, "I thought you grew out of your bi-curious phase?"

"It's not a _phase_!" she exclaims.

"Uh huh. That's what you said about punk, goth, emo, and – what was it – oh, the _first_ time you went out with a girl."

"You're just trying to get over the fact that I just turned down a night of passionate heterosexual sex with you because I'm in a relationship with a _woman_."

"What?" Amarant takes another shot down, "No, no, that's not it." He grins, "I'm just wondering how much I have to pay to watch."

"You're such a woman-objectifying, piggish... _man_," Lani groans.

"So, does that mean by invite only?"

Lani laughs and socks him on the shoulder – he rolls his eyes and looks out over the crowd again. It's a mass of people – long hair, short hair, all the colors imaginable (and some that aren't); different sizes, people from nineteen-pretending-to-be-twenty-one to people well over thirty. It's kind of interesting; all the people dancing look like they're from cliques that would never mesh. He sees a boy with an excess of chains and spikes making out sloppily with a girl wearing a pink Abercrombie & Fitch shirt.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Lani asks, leaning against him. "Hey, should we get another bottle? We're almost out."

"How long has it _been_?" he asks, looking around for a clock – there are none.

"Maybe an hour and a half – two hours? We sure are heavy drinkers," she giggles, then waves for another bottle, "Why not, it's all on Kuja's tab."

"What's his deal, anyways?" Amarant asks, frowning, "He's so..."

"Gay?" Lani giggles again and then waves to the silver haired male, who flashes her a grin through loose hair and over the shoulder of a slim, muscled man who looks a good four years older than him. "Yeah, he's pretty bad. But, then again, when you're a fashion major..."

"That's got nothing to do with it," Amarant sighs, "You can tell that has nothing to do with it."

"He's just too _pretty_. And he's not _completely_ queer, after all – I slept with him once." Amarant looks at her with both eyebrows raised and she waves a hand, accepting the new bottle from the bartender, "Oh, we were _really_ drunk. I think we were high, too; I don't know. It was nice, though – he's sure..." Her eyes go over his face, "Amazing."

Amarant snorts and rolls his eyes. "I'm surprised; you've _really_ slept with every one of your friends."

"Well, no shit! How am I supposed to be a good friend if I don't even know what turns them on?" She grins, "You should try it."

"I don't have _friends_, don't you know that?" He shakes his head, taking a shot, "Except for you and _maybe_ Cid. And he's, what, sixty?"

"Hah!" She jabs him in the stomach and he winces, "So you _would_ sleep with a guy?"

"...I don't even know where you got that idea. I don't sleep with men; I'm not gay like you or your boy out on the floor."

"Would you sleep with Kuja?"

The question is pretty blunt and Amarant blinks, looking at Lani briefly before taking the last bit out of the first bottle and downing it. The bartender sweeps by to pick it up and the second bottle is opened before he responds, "No."

"Took you a while."

"Had to contemplate how much liquor I could consume before I was over the limit."

"Baby, we just finished a bottle of Southern Comfort together. You're over the limit."

Amarant shrugs just as Kuja comes stumbling up the steps, clinging to the older, muscled man, blonde haired and with a definite "surfer" attitude that strikes Amarant as a little annoying. "Lani, Amarant, this is _Foster_."

"Hey," Lani greets, and Amarant nods to him. "How much have you had tonight?" she asks her friend.

Kuja looks at Foster, blinking, "Um...?"

"Enough that he can't hardly walk," Foster drawls – _Australian_, Amarant immediately associates his accent to the proper nationality, "I figured I should bring him to you before someone swept him off for a night in the coke closet."

"Thanks," Lani responds, "It's late, Kuj' – let's take this bottle of so'co to your apartment and finish it off."

"You're not _staying_?" Kuja asks Foster, who grins.

"Sorry, my sweet, I've got folk here I gotta entertain."

"Oh, such a shame," Kuja sighs, Before transferring himself from Foster to Lani.

Foster looks at Amarant, who takes the third shot from the bottle, "It's hard to be straight with people like Kuja in the world," he says by way of apology, before taking off back down.  
"What a _jerk_!" Kuja pouts, "Are we going?"

"We gotta," Lani consoles, "Come on, we'll go to the apartment, okay? Zidane's probably wondering where we are." Lani grins at Amarant, "Come on!"

They leave the club and Freya's off door so they don't have to worry about dirty looks. Most of the parking lot's empty and Amarant suddenly realizes something.

"I can't fuckin' drive," he mutters, looking annoyed.

"Oh, that's okay!" Kuja responds, "You can stay at my apartment! We've got all this room and there's a television and – oh, my brother's there... oh! Well, you have to come anyways, you aren't driving _drunk_!"

"It _is_ pretty close, and you can always stay at my place if you're too weirded out by Kuja's drunken antics."

Amarant snorts, "Yeah, fine. Whatever."

They start in the supposed direction of the apartment when suddenly Kuja stops, causing Lani to stop as well. He looks at Amarant, "Hey, go get your CDs. I wanna look through them more extensively." The word "extensively" takes a good two tries before it comes out properly.

"...Okay," he mumbles, and goes to the truck, unlocking it and pulling out the battered CD case. He locks the door and heads back – it's difficult to walk, really, with so much alcohol. At least more is waiting for him at the end of this trip.

They walk along the sidewalks in the general direction Kuja puts them in; Lani and Kuja are supporting each other and Amarant's merely listing side to side in order to keep a general balance.

He leans to the side about five minutes into the walk and hits the wall. "Oh-_kay_," he concedes, "There we go." He slides against the wall and down to the cement, eyes closing.

"Amarant!" Lani exclaims, "Get up!"

"No, I'm fine here. The cement's kind of comfortable. Go on, I'll... catch up or something."

There's a moment of silence and then, suddenly, he feels weight on his lap. He opens his eyes and Kuja stares up at him, stating, "Well, I guess we're down for now too."

"Lani, I have a drunken fool on my lap. Please explain this."

"Hey, it's Kuja. No shrink in the world could explain _him_," she sighs, dropping down next to the redhead.

"We're not gonna _leave_ you!" Kuja looks stricken by the very thought and his voice drops very low, "You could be – I don't know, _raped_!"

Amarant laughs, lowly. "Oh, yes, because a big, muscled ranch hand with a switchblade stands _such_ a high chance of being sexually assaulted."

"Some crazy woman could come and think you're sexy!" Kuja exclaims, eyes wide.

"Now, _that_ wouldn't be rape." He smirks, leaning his head back, "I look like a bum."

"_We_ look like bums," Lani corrects, "Three drunk bums on the corner with a bottle of bourbon and sexily disheveled clothing."

"I dunno," Amarant responds, rolling his head along the wall to rest it on top of Lani's head, "You look more like a prostitute than a bum."

"Oh, like Kuja doesn't!" Lani exclaims.

"If we're prostitutes, does that make you our pimp?" Kuja asks, looking a little stoned and blinking owlishly.

"Oh, I can see _that_ happening," the redhead chuckles, before asking, "Did your dancing partner give you any pills or ingestible items of questionable origin?"

The silver-haired male blinks. "Um... I don't... _think_ so... Why, do you think I'm stoned?"

"I don't know."

They sit there for a while and a few people on their way home from bars or the mall or wherever people come from so late at night pass them. They get a few looks but Amarant glares at some and Lani snaps her teeth at others, so they're generally left alone.

"Can we go now?" Kuja finally asks, "Zidane might not have a key."

"You locked the door _again_?" Lani asks, annoyed, "I always tell you that he doesn't have a key. Seriously, you're a horrible brother."

"I know," Kuja sighs, a bit too overdramatically to really be serious. He gets up, stumbles back a short bit, and then holds out his hand to Lani. She waves him off and stands herself, dusting off her shirt idly. Amarant gets up as well, and after a few moments of unbalance, he decides maybe he _can _walk to the apartments.

They stumble forward dazedly for a few more minutes before Kuja finally tells them, "There it is."

The apartments are modern looking but kind of plain – Amarant wouldn't have guessed that someone like Kuja or Lani would live in them. Then, he realizes it's the college apartments, so it's not too strange.

They go through the lobby, which is empty save for a security guard who waves them through in amusement, and Lani jams her finger as she pushes the up button for the elevator.

"Aw, _shit_!" she mutters, "That fuckin' hurt."

"Poor baby," Amarant drawls without looking entirely too serious. The doors open and they go up two stories, heading down the hall and to the left.

Kuja frowns. "Hey, where's Zidane?" He messes with the door and realizes that there's a paperclip jammed in it. "Damn it! Doesn't he know that's going to ruin the lock?"

"You're not even worried that he knows how to do that," Amarant mumbles, rolling his eyes. He wonders, for a moment, if he should just go back down and head back to his car, but the Southern Comfort in Lani's hand convinces him to stay, just for a little while longer.

They go in and Kuja flips the lights on. It's a pretty big apartment, for being on a college campus, and Amarant's vaguely surprised. It's decorated as he figured a fashionable person would decorate it, with lots of silver and nice couches and white carpets. It's kind of strange, really – he's not used to being in such a... clean place.

"Zidane!" Kuja calls, "Where are you?"

There's some muffled thumps and a few choice swear words before Zidane appears, with one side of his face bruised pretty badly and a bit of dried blood on his chin.

"What happened to _you_?" Lani asks, eyebrow raised.

"Huh?" The younger brother shrugs and looks into one of the mirrors, before sighing in annoyance, "Steiner got pissed at me 'cos we ditched him."

Kuja goes to his brother and tilts his head to the side, examining the bruise with a suddenly paternal look. "Did you put anything on it?"

"Nah," Zidane mumbles, looking sleepy.

"Here, come on," he quickly picks up his brother's hand, pulling him along to what Amarant suspects is the kitchen. They disappear through the swinging door and Lani flops down on one of the couches, opening the bottle again and taking a swig.

"Want some?" she asks.

"Thank God," he mutters, and sits down beside her. She leans against him and puts her feet over the armrest, sighing and passing the bottle to him. He takes a long drink. "What happened to the kid?"

"Oh his girlfriend has this bodyguard. He's a real tight-ass, you know the kind."

Amarant raises an eyebrow, "He's dating someone with a bodyguard?"

She laughs, "Yeah, she's the daughter of some government guy – a senator or something. Real high-profile."

"Interesting," the redhead mutters, and they both share another look and a few gulps. He looks around and spots the entertainment center. And it really _is_ an entertainment center. The TV is huge and the stereos look even larger. And there's all the videogame consoles – those must be the blonde kid's. And... "Hey... Is that a DDR pad?"

"Yeah." The two look over the back of the sofa and see Kuja and Zidane. Zidane continues, "I got it a few months ago."

"You any good?" Amarant asks the kid, who smirks.

"You're asking _me_ if I'm any good."

"Just wonderin'," the older boy drawls, smirking, "I mean, I don't know if you're one of those casual idiots or one of us _good_ players."

"Oh, damn it," Kuja mumbles and Zidane stiffens slightly.

"Casual? Oh, it's on now, you punk." The blonde glides forward and turns on the TV, pulling out a CD case. "Max, Max 2, Extreme, Extreme 2... I've got more, if you actually _are_ any good."

"Ama', don't do this," Lani mumbles, looking more embarrassed than worried for her friend's wellbeing.

The redhead ignores the girl and stands up, stretching. "Extreme 2 should be _quite_ adequate. What level do you normally play at, light?"

"Bitch, please." Zidane turns the game on and the normal loading screens coming up. "Gotta do it single player, though. I don't have another pad."

"That isn't a pad!" Kuja exclaims, eyes widening as he flops onto the couch, "Gilgamesh spent _months_ on that for us, you ungrateful brat."

The pad is hardwood with four buttons at the top – supposedly for the X, O, Triangle, and Square. The directional buttons are a dark green against black and if he didn't pay attention, he wouldn't have even noticed their existence at all.

"It's nice."

"Thanks," Zidane instantly takes the compliment as the announcer shouts "Dance Dance Revolution!"

"Alright, brat, go ahead. Heavy."

"Heh." Zidane taps the start button – what is supposed to be the start button, at least – and goes down to workout mode. "Is this cool with you?"

"Whatever, so long as I get the higher score."

Zidane rolls his eyes and chooses Player Two, who's a robot. Amarant smirks – Zidane picks "Butterfly."

And then, the blonde promptly busts out several interesting moves. He spend a bit of his time with his back to the screen and uses both feet to hit a few of the buttons – he makes short work out of the song but misses a complicated jump-followed-by-an-8-step routine. Amarant laughs and Zidane shouts at him to shut up, causing him to lose another few steps. He catches the next ones barely and pulls off the rest with style that only a really _excellent_ player could have.

Amarant smirks. "Move over, punk," he tells the kid, who steps off. The pad is the same size as the one at the arcade and Amarant quickly taps the right arrow until "Captain Jack" is highlighted.

He then proceeds to beat the shit out of Zidane's score and style.

Jumps, back-stepping – he always does better when people are watching him. He does half of the song without even really looking at the screen, or at least that's the way he wants it to seem. He moves his hands and even mumbles along with the song, mixing his feet – using left on right and right on left – Zidane shouts something like "Showoff" and he stumbles, but doesn't miss the down arrow because he simply drops himself back and uses his hand.

Zidane is suitably humbled. No "boo's" or "almost's" and only a few less than "Perfect!"

His score is a great many digits higher than Zidane's.

"What the hell?"

Amarant steps off of the pad and turns, arms crossing as he looks over the three. Zidane looks mortified. "You – How..."

"I'm twenty three and I have absolutely _no_ life. You can't hope to beat me."

Lani laughs, suddenly, "God, that's amazing!"

"Suppose that's alright," Kuja says, and Amarant glances at him. He's got his arm over the back of the couch and this half-drunk, lazy smile on his face, eyes showing a little more than Amarant's used to seeing in anyone looking at him. He blinks and Kuja's looking to Lani, "Give me that bottle, if you would please."

Lani passes him the bottle and he takes a swig, before reaching for Amarant's abandoned CD case. He flips through it and then pulls out a CD, flinging it to Zidane, who catches it without a blink.

"So, this Captain Jack is the same one as on DDR, huh?" Kuja asks, smirking as his brother waltzes (quite literally) straight to the stereo system.

"You're not putting that on-"

"Too late," Zidane cuts Amarant off and pops the CD into the six CD changer.

* * *

Hands up in the air. 


	4. Dream A Dream

A/N: Howdy-ho. This took _forever_, man, but I have all these ideas now! Man oh man, I love AU fics something fierce. Quick reference to my other fic, _Wild Thing_, in here, but you don't need to read it to understand – not really, at least. It'd make _more_ sense, but not much more. Read on, good one.

* * *

_How do I get into these things?_

Amarant looks up to the ceiling before shaking his head, eyes returning to Kuja, who's swaying on the couch. The CD has ended and Lani has taken Zidane to her apartment to get something – he can't remember what, exactly, it was, but he knew it was innocent and didn't mean there was a sordid affair going on behind his back. Kuja is looking at the ceiling with an interested, mildly confused look on his face, and suddenly he looks at Amarant, catching him in the act of staring.

"I'm going to bed," he concedes, "If you want – I don't know. If you want, you can sleep on the couch, but I think Lani has a pull out bed in her apartment, if you'd rather." He stands and makes it about halfway to the hall before having to rest against the wall. "Oh."

"Again," Amarant sighs, standing and going over to the other male, "No pills or other questionable substances?"

"I _hope_ not," Kuja mumbles and Amarant lets the silver haired man lean against him, starting down the hall. "Second door on the left," he says, and Amarant takes a minute to open the door. The room has white walls and white carpet, but the prevailing color is dark purple. The desk in the corner has piles of half-finished sketches and there are larger, full-sized sketches pinned to the walls, bohemian dresses and weird shirts, but they all look pretty good. The bookcase is completely full of books, DVDs, and CDs, and other than the bed there's not much else – a stereo on top of drawers and a laptop, but otherwise the place looks kind of barren.

"Here you go," he mutters and puts the other down on the bed.

Kuja groans and stretches, smiling sleepily – stoned – at Amarant. "Thank you," he says, "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Amarant asks, already looking over sketches and books.

"For dragging you into Treno. And for convincing Lani to disclose your address." He grins, "You looked very confused about me being there."

"Not a big deal." He turns to look at Kuja and frowns. His silver hair is mused and hanging in his face, and he looks so _soft_. "You're like a girl," he mutters and hopes his face isn't red.

Kuja laughs a little, "I get that a lot. Would you sleep with me?"

Amarant blinks, "No."

"Then I guess I'm not a total girl, am I?" he giggles, before grabbing for the comforter. "When you see Zidane tell him not to wake me up."

"Alright," the redhead sighs and leaves the room, closing the door and heading out to the living room. The couch looks okay but honestly, he doesn't want to sleep here. It's too... _clean_.

He heads out and leaves the paperclip under the welcome mat for Zidane, and uses foggy memories to remember what room Lani was in. He manages to make it with only a few missed hallways and knocks on the door – three fast, three slow, three fast.

"Comin'," Lani says from the other side of the door, and a moment later she leans out, smirking, "Couldn't handle Kuja?"

"He's asleep. He said to send Zidane up and tell him not to wake him up."

Lani laughs softly and lets the other in, "Yeah, the poor kid's wonked out on my couch." She jerks a finger and indeed, the blonde boy is asleep on the old leather couch that – Amarant suddenly realizes that's the same couch they stole from the staff room at school all those years ago.

"Oh, man," Amarant mumbles, "I love that couch."

"Me too," the girl whispers, "Come on, you can sleep with me."

"Hah, I thought you didn't want any passionate heterosexual sex?" Amarant responds cheekily, and she rolls her eyes, leading him to the bedroom. It's got the same white walls and carpet as the other apartment, but instead there are posters for Broadway musicals and a few underground bands Amarant's only vaguely heard of.

"So, how do you feel?"

"What do you mean?" Amarant asks the girl, who shrugs, pulling off her tank top.

"Prolonged exposure to Kuja. Are you still straight?"

Amarant rolls his eyes, grinning and sitting down on the edge of the bed, "Yeah, I'm still straight."

"Great," the girl chuckles, crossing her arms easily over her bare chest, "Wanna fuck?"

The redhead blinks, but is generally unsurprised. Lani will always be sexual, will always be hot, and will always be blunt about it. The Three Laws of Lani – they beat the shit out of Newton's. "I thought you were in a relationship with a girl?" he asks.

She rolls her eyes and straddles him. "Oh, she slept with one of the guys from the music department last week. We figured that means I can sleep with anyone I want, you know?"

"Lani, you're one of the most fucked up people I've ever met." He puts a hand to her back and she laughs, kissing him.

"Yeah, I know. Still, I better have my fucked up way with you before Kuja makes you queer."

"You can't be _made_ queer," Amarant mumbles and she shrugs.

"Kuja can make anyone _anything_."

* * *

When Lani and Amarant were in high school, they were considered the wrong kids to hang out with. They were the kids who sit in the back of class talking about their latest prospects – usually in voices loud enough so most everyone could hear. The kids who would punch you for looking at them wrong and very likely kill you if you did it again. For their senior prank, they led a girl on a wild, emotionally hazardous rollercoaster that involved them sleeping with her at different times, pretending not to know, and making the girl think she was the hottest shit on earth. 

They didn't believe in using their powers only for evil. (Though, they eventually let it loose to the entire student body and got her labeled some unkind things.)

When Amarant's mother had died, Lani had been probably the only person who knew about it, and was therefore the first and only defense that the redhead had against idiots who took those fucking idiotic "your mom" jokes just a little too far. She had also been his steady girlfriend for about two years, until college came and swept her up in a haze of bigger and better things. Not that Amarant holds any sort of grudge against her – she was right to bail the second she could.

He is, after all, a train wreck waiting to happen.

He really hadn't talked to Lani much over the college years, other than occasional visits that usually ended up with them stoned out of their minds laughing over _Blazing Saddles_ or something equally as stupid. Not that he minded much, either way – Lani was still a friend and, if he needed something she would probably be the first person to offer it to him.

The idea of sleeping with Lani just because she has a free "sleep with anyone" ticket and she thinks he's going to become gay over some silly, silver haired fool doesn't surprise Amarant at all. Lani's always been one of those people who knock on wood, double check the locks, and stuff like that. Jump in the water now before it gets too cold – that kind of thing.

But still, something doesn't sit right with Amarant later that night, when Lani sleeps half on top of him, hair all over the place and arms on his shoulders. He loves Lani and so he doesn't mind her sleeping on him like this, undressed, dressed, or any other way. But still – something seems wrong.

He tries to remember a time when Lani's predictions about himself were wrong. "Never get into college" – nope, he didn't; not for the reasons she had thought, but still. "Be that old lady on the street who has lots of cats and stuff" – kind of, it's coming true; he loves animals and he would happily live his life with just a bunch of cats if he could. "Have a fucked up sexual life" – she had seen to that one. "Go gay for Kuja"...

_That's_ what's worrying him. All her predictions come true and suddenly she thinks he's going to start sleeping with men – men who look like girls, but still.

"Stop thinkin'," Lani mumbles against his chest, "Y' think too much."

"Ain't my fault you make me second guess myself."

"God," she mutters and looks up at him, eyebrows raised, "Don't tell me you're regretting sleeping with me."

Amarant snorts, "I don't think anyone can regret that, Lan."

"Oh, don't you 'Lan' me," the girl teases, "What are you thinking so hard about that it wakes _me_ up?"

"Random stuff."

She stretches against him and then laughs, "You were thinking about _Kuja_, weren't you?"

Amarant wonders, briefly, if Lani has some kind of psychic connection to his brain. "No," he answers in a way that means _yes, how did you know?_

"Random stuff for you means personal stuff, and personal stuff for you means people like Kuja. You're not gay, are you?"

"No," Amarant mumbles, "Go back to sleep, Lani, you're bugging me."

"You're awfully easy to read, Red. My honest answer is _stop worrying_, would you? What happens will happen and you can't do shit to change it, so why bother?"

"That's a very finite way to think. No free will?"

"More like destiny and preordination and shit. Now, don't worry. Kuja's not going to bother you if you set boundaries now, instead of when you're both naked. Though, if it ever gets that far," She shifts and yawns, "You'll have to send me a copy of the videotape."

"There will be no videotape because there will be no naked Amarant and naked Kuja together in any frame. Sorry to burst your bubble."

Lani groans, "Okay, okay. Go to _sleep_ already, you big ass. I have class in the morning."

"So­-_rry_," he mumbles and puts his arms around her. She makes a motion with her hand and grabs at the blanket, pulling it up over them.

"If it's any consolation, you're a wonderful hetero fuck," she drawls against his chest and he chuckles, smoothing back her hair.

"Same with you. Though I'd suppose you're a wonderful lesbian fuck as well."

"There's nothing I'm not wonderful at," she answers, nodding.

Amarant smirks and closes his eyes, content for now to follow Lani's advice and just not _worry_.

* * *

Amarant sighs and stares up at the ceiling, feeling comfortably isolated from the entire world – especially the world that involves his father, who is out with Susan, at some stupid bridal shower or something. He's not sure what they're out doing, actually, and he's quite okay with that. 

He's going to have to call Lani eventually and ask her if she was serious about going to the ranch with him – he's leaving in two days for a week and she'd never forgive him if he just _left_.

There's a knock at the garage door, and he smirks, standing. Maybe he won't have to call her after all. He heads out the door and down the short hallway to the garage door and pries it open.

It isn't Lani.

Actually, it's Kuja.

Amarant forces himself not to make any sort of surprised gesture and simply nods. "Hey," he greets.

"Hi." Kuja looks awkward, in the big gray sweatshirt he was wearing before, with grubby jeans and his hair back in a ponytail. He doesn't look at all like he did last night. "Oh!" he blinks, and shifts his messenger bag, reaching inside it and pulling out Amarant's CD case. "I – here, I forgot to give this back to you."

"Oh." Amarant takes it, looks at it blankly – what was it that he was so worried about last night, he was so out of it – "Thanks."

"No problem. Um, you..." Kuja blushes suddenly and Amarant knows there was a reason why he was worried last night, "You weren't too annoyed with us dragging you off last night, were you?"

Amarant raises an eyebrow and leans against the doorframe, smirking. "Not really. What else was I going to do, sit around and get stoned?" He shrugs, "It wasn't that bad."

"Oh, that's good," Kuja responds, looking very much relieved. "I thought you were... I don't know. Sorry, I'm just floundering now," he mumbles.

"That's okay, conversation's a bitch." Amarant blanks out for another moment and before anything can get too awkward he spouts, "Want to come in?"

"...Oh, uh... sure." Kuja looks surprised but comes in when Amarant steps aside, and looks around in mild interest. "So, Zidane tells me you and Lani had a nice evening," he drawls, smirking over his shoulder at Amarant.

"Aw, shit." The redhead rubs the back of his head, taking the lead and heading to his room again. "What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing. After all, I know Lani too – not as well as you, but enough to know that isn't a big deal in her books."

"Or mine," Amarant adds nonchalantly, without really thinking. "Want a smoke?" He offers up a pack of Camels and the other shakes his head.

"No thanks."

Amarant flops back onto his bed and Kuja makes himself comfortable on his desk chair. "So, what's up?" the redhead asks, "Did you come out today just to return my damned CDs?"

"...Well, yes and no." Kuja spins around a little on the chair and puts his hands on his knees. "I was going to invite you to dinner tonight with Lani, Zidane and I, but maybe I'm moving too fast for such a heterosexual guy."

Amarant smirks and nods, "Maybe a little. Where are you eating?"

"This little Japanese place by the shop. Good sushi and stuff. Zidane likes it, and it's more..." He waves a hand, "It's more like a little party for him and a few of his friends, because they got their first – oh, what do those hip young kids call it today, a gig, show, whatever – for their band."

"A band, huh." Somehow, this doesn't surprise Amarant in the slightest. He could see the little blonde singing in a whiny teenage voice about his girlfriend – oh, yeah, definitely, didn't she have a bodyguard? That's a Blink 182 song waiting to happen.

"Yeah. He does that whole guitar-slash-lead-singer thing." Kuja bats his eyelashes, "So, what do you say?"

"I'm not much for sushi," Amarant mutters, thinking for a minute.

Kuja simply pouts and swings around more on the chair. "Lani figured it was a lost cause, inviting you out two nights in a row."

"And you didn't listen to her?"

"Have _you_ ever listened to Lani?" Kuja responds, grinning.

The redhead smirks and then shrugs. "I guess I'll come."

"Great!" The silver-haired man claps his hands together.

"...So long as there's no dress code."

"Oh, no, not tonight," he waves a hand, "I'll be the only decent looking one, as per usual." He leans back in the chair and crosses his legs. "So, what do you do for fun, anyways?"

"What do you mean?" The redhead cranes his neck to look around, "What you see is what you get."

"For some reason, I fail to believe that," Kuja responds, "You seem more like the kind of person to have so many nuances that it'd be impossible to map, rather than a 'what you see' kind of person."

"You asked what I like to do. This is it."

"Sit in your room, smoking, and watch TV?"

"You say it like that's a bad way to live. I've seen worse." Changing the subject quickly, he asks, "How's your brother handing his little breakup?"

"As most boys his age do – trying desperately to win back the affections that were never taken away. It's a shame it had to happen to _my_ brother, of all people. He's such an emotional train wreck..." Kuja holds up his hands in surrender, "I guess he got that from me."

There's a sudden, loud barking from down the hall, and Amarant groans, cupping a hand to his mouth and shouting, "Shut up, Admes!"

"Who?" Kuja asks, blinking.

More barking, and Amarant rolls his eyes, "My dog. Probably saw a damned cat or something again... _Admes_!"

The door nudges open and a big, bulky German Shepard trots in, looking beyond pleased with himself and dropping a bone on the floor.

"How _cute_!" Kuja exclaims, and the dog notices him for the first time, whining and trotting over to the student. "Admes, huh?" he asks, petting the dog's fur, "He's _gorgeous_."

"That's what everyone says, 'till he comes up to them with a dead rabbit in his jaws." Amarant smirks over at the dog, "He's such a showoff."

"He brings home rabbits?"

"Yeah, puts 'em on my bed like _I'm_ the one who's going to eat it later."

Kuja tweaks one of Admes' ears and laughs, "Aw, he brings you _presents_. How cute."

"Not so much presents as an order. Basically knows that I'm just going to cook them for him, so-"

"You _cook_?" Kuja looks more surprised by this fact than the fact that he cooks rabbits that his dog catches, and so Amarant nods.

"A little."

"Like I said, _nuances_. Still, if you don't want him bringing you dead animals, I'd suggest _not_ cooking them up for him."

"I don't mind it. It means he's getting exercise and besides, the way he treats my dad, he deserves it."

"How does he treat your dad?" Kuja asks, looking down at the dog, "He's so nice!"

"Yeah, except he hates dad. Dunno why, but I can't blame him."

Kuja pets Admes for a few more minutes, and then says, "When Lani told me you were an animal person, I didn't believe her. No offense, but you kind of come off..."

"Yeah, that's what they call a 'front'," Amarant drawls, "I just don't like people so much. Tend to get on my nerves. Animals, though..." He clicks his tongue and Admes pulls away from Kuja, leaping onto the bed and laying next to Amarant, "They're just... better." He scratches Admes' side, and hopes he hasn't come off antisocial. Not that he _isn't_, but still...

Kuja gives him that look from last night – that one Amarant's not used to seeing from people, and shrugs, "You just have to know what kind of people to look for. You'd be surprised."

It rolls off of Amarant's tongue before he can stop it, "I think I am," and he feels suddenly self-conscious, because that's not something you say to guys. But Kuja doesn't seem to take it anyway other than a vague compliment from a weird guy, so Amarant doesn't feel too bad.

"So," the silver-haired student starts, eyes sliding over Amarant quickly – so quick that the redhead almost doesn't catch it and then wishes he hadn't, "Got any other quirks that I should know about?"

"Well, I enjoy long walks on the beach, carnivals, and," the redhead deadpans, petting Admes and looking at the other solemnly, "Sometimes I like to murder people and then eat them."

"Delicious," Kuja smirks, "We have something in common."

* * *

Haha, threw you for a loop, huh? 


	5. Breeze Black Night

A/N: Oh, Amarant. You thought I had left you for Final Fantasy 7? I think _not_! Unfortunately, you're being too angsty in everything else, so plop you go back in with Kuja in my happy little AU world.

* * *

Amarant wonders what the hell he's in for. 

Generally, this is how he feels when Lani invites him somewhere without really giving him the specifics, and so he's not surprised that he gets the same vibe from Kuja – who is, in a way, a male Lani. With better taste.

He's not afraid to admit that, thank god, so long as he doesn't say it aloud.

The sushi place is half-full of people, most of them business people or families with yelling children, and the redhead frowns. This probably wasn't a good idea.

Kuja grabs his arm before he can escape, and drags him to a large table where Lani, Zidane, and a few other people are sitting.

"You _did_ it!" Lani exclaims, surprised, "Kuja, you really _are_ amazing."

"I have a charm about myself, yes," the silver-haired man nods, letting go of Amarant, "You _can_ sit, you know."

"I'll stay far away from your girl," the redhead instantly tells Lani, "She's giving me death glares."

Lani looks at the girl sitting next to her, who simply bats her eyes and looks absolutely innocent. "You're crazy, Red. Ruby wouldn't hurt a _fly_. She's a gorgeous Southern belle, not an Amazon warrior."

"I'm a lot bigger than a fly," Amarant grumbles, "I'm not so hard to hit."

"Point," the girl – Ruby – says, grinning. "But why would I hurt ya, darlin'? Lani would hurt _me_, and that's no fun when it ain't sexy."

"I like you," Amarant smirks, flopping into the seat across from Lani nonetheless.

"Ya better," the girl says, "Or else I'll hit ya."

She has long, blue hair and big blue eyes, and if she hadn't been wearing so much metal, and hadn't had her ears pierced five times when she was fifteen, Ruby could have passed herself off as a capable member of society. However, she's given up on that, and decides to settle for outcast with Lani. After all, the girl's pretty damned hot – _and_ she has hot friends! She had thought her friend Amarant was a troll looking for a free, live action porno when Lani had told her about him, but man, she was starting to like the idea of him hanging around after hours.

Kuja sits beside Amarant, across from Ruby, and turns to his brother. "I'm so _glad_ you waited for everyone, little brother."

"Mmhmm," the blonde grins, swallowing down his coke, "You know me. Oi, my brother roped you into this?" he directs to Amarant, who shrugs. "Be careful, man, he might think you're being sociable."

"Who's the behemoth?" the boy sitting next to Zidane asks, giving Amarant a look that insists that he introduce himself. He doesn't, of course.

The redheaded boy pouts and his brown eyes dart to Kuja, who swiftly makes introductions. "Blank, dear, meet Amarant. Amarant, this is the little bassist."

Blank has several scars along his bare, deeply tanned arms, and his face is sporting a scar along the bridge of his nose. He grins when he catches Amarant staring, "Hey, take a picture, it'll last you longer."

"Blank," Zidane drawls, looking vaguely official, "Don't be so hard on the man. He _obviously _has never seen a toughened criminal such as yourself before."

"No," the redhead shrugs, "I was trying to figure out if I could add a few on without taking off anything vital."

"Go ahead, give it a try." Blank puffs up his chest, "I only look this way because the others turned out worse. Isn't that right, Marcus?"

Amarant sees now that there's a third boy, sitting across from the other two. He's muscular and is wearing a beanie low over his eyes, grinning at his two friends and rubbing at his stubbly chin. "Except for that one," he finally says, pointing at one deep scar on the other's shoulder, "He still looks better than you."

"Ah, _pshaw_." The redhead waves a hand, "I totally fucked that guy up."

"Isn't it cute?" Kuja asks the three his age, "Male bragging rights."

"Reminds me of Amarant when he was that age," Lani bats her eyelashes at her friend, who flips her off.

"Hey, hey, no rude gestures around the children!" Zidane scolds.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were old enough to handle it."

Blank grins, "He's got you there, blondie."

"Really," Kuja turns to Amarant, raising an eyebrow, "You're like a little kid. Don't make me put you in time out."

"Careful," Zidane cuts in, looking worried, "He's not kidding. His time out is really hardcore solitary. Like a prison."

"When are we eatin'?" Ruby cuts in, leaning forward. "So much as I love t' hear y'all tease, I got a desert waitin' for me once this shindig's over."

Lani practically throws herself on her girlfriend, "Isn't she _cute_? Calls me a desert and _everything_."

"Is this an 'all invited' type festivity?" Amarant asks innocently, earning a chopstick thrown to his head. "Hey! I was just _asking_."

"Ya know, Lani," Ruby starts, "Maybe the guy'd really _like_ a night with us."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you? Fucking _pig_."

Ruby smiles sweetly at her girlfriend, "Well, maybe we should _let_ 'im. I mean, what harm would it do?"

"Ruby!" Lani exclaims, "Don't start ogling my ex-boyfriend!"

"Ex?" the southern girl asks, cocking an eyebrow slyly, "Not what ya told me last night."

"For crying out – Lani, you _told_ your girlfriend you cheated on her with me?"

"It ain't cheatin' if I gave her full rights to it, darlin'. Now shh, yer scarin' the locals. Here comes the waitress, finally."

The timid young girl holds up remarkably well under the not-so-subtle ogling of Amarant, Lani, Ruby, and Blank, and manages to get all their orders before retreating hastily back into the kitchen.

"You are all _horrible_," Kuja sighs, "Why do I continue to surround myself with people like this?"

Lani rolls her eyes, "Because you're a glutton for punishment?"

"Because you're forced to?" Zidane chips in.

"Because you're trying to put yourself up on a pedestal so that you look better to the right people," Amarant drawls, earning an approving look from Kuja.

"You're _good_."

"I'm perceptive." The redhead turns to look at Lani, "I'm going in two days, up to the ranch, if you were serious about coming."

"Yeah, totally," the girl nods, grinning.

"Ya work on a _ranch_?" Ruby asks, eyes lighting up, "That's _great_! Aw, but yer gonna take Lani away from me for a week, aren't you?"

"If that's okay with you," Amarant nods.

"Aw, isn't he cute?" Zidane coos, "He asks for permission and everything! Lani, you pulled a number on him when he was in school, didn't you?"

"Back down, runt," Amarant grumbles, "I don't need any backtalk from you, little _miss_ Blink 182."

"That's not just an insult to blondie, but to Honor Among Thieves as a whole!" Blank exclaims, before adding, "I mean, just the Blink 182 part. The miss thing is totally a slight on Zidane alone."

"We don't do pop-punk," Marcus tells Amarant.

"It's more like, whatever we can remember when we get up on stage," Zidane nods, "We haven't got a set plan yet, but we have the Super Mario theme if all else fails."

"An instant crowd pleaser," Lani nods.

"Are y'all goin' up alone? Or are there other bands?" Ruby cuts in, leaning forward to get a look at the band.

"Ah," Zidane grins, "There's two other bands. We each get an hour set – we come on after..." He frowns, "Oh, shit. Who do we come on after, you guys?"

"Velvet Nightmare," Blank drawls. "Some hard rock band. We _are_ second set, right?"

Marcus nods affirmative and the three start talking about the night, leaving the other four to their own devices. Kuja excuses himself to the restroom, and Amarant leans back in his seat, taking down some water and frowning at the two completely separate conversations he's hearing.

"I'm surprised you came," Lani finally says, ending her conversation with Ruby – or maybe just morphing it into something else. "Really, Ama, are you looking to score?"

"Lani, you're stupid," Amarant groans, "I just came because it was this or _Susan_."

"Who's Susan?" Ruby asks, leaning forward, "Should I hurt her for ya?"

"What happened to that not hurting a fly crap?" the redhead asks, shrugging, "She's my dad's fiancée. Piss ass little bitch."

"Such _language_," Lani chides, before reaching over and putting a hand on his arm. "Are you going to be okay?"

"It's not like I'm dying or anything," he mumbles, looking away. Lani's always made him feel like spewing personal shit out, and it's never good to do that around strangers, or in crowded areas.

"Are ya gonna keep livin' there?" Ruby asks, adding, "Lani said ya lived with yer dad," when he gives her a weird look.

"It's not like I'm going to live anywhere else. I can't just leave. I've got stuff."

"Why don't you move in with me?" Lani asks. "Until you can get your own place. I don't mind."

"Lani," Amarant sighs, shaking his head and putting his hand on top of hers in one of the few openly thankful gestures he's ever performed, "I'm not going to live with you. You live in a tiny apartment, and I've got a dog to look after. Not to mention that if I were to move anywhere, it'd be the ranch."

"Please don't move _there_," the girl whines, "I'd never _see you_ again."

"They don't have any open space that I can afford, anyways. Remember, I'm not nearly experienced enough to actually do much work."

Lani sighs, though the male doesn't know if it's from relief or sadness.

Kuja comes back and sits down beside Amarant again, frowning. "You all look very... upset."

"We're not," Amarant says, "Lani's just being stupid."

"I'm not being..." She sighs, "Fine, whatever."

Zidane suddenly makes a noise. "That's it!"

The group looks to him, and his bandmates look only marginally confused. "I know how to sneak Dagger out for the show!"

"Zidane," Blank sighs, "Shouldn't you give up on her? Seriously, she's going to lead to trouble."

"Ah, shut up, man. I'll get her out of her house, and she can come see the show."

"What then?" Kuja asks, raising an eyebrow, "Will you shower her with public love sonnets?"

"I don't know any love sonnets," Zidane frowns, "Do you think we could bust some music up to Shakespeare? Is that possible?"

Kuja sighs and covers his eyes with his hand. "My brother, ladies and gentlemen."

Amarant claps politely and Lani whacks him. "Hey!" he exclaims, "I thought I was _supposed_ to clap."

"Shut up," she snaps good-naturedly, "You're such a jerk."

The waitress appears again carrying trays of sushi and the group lets her put it all down with only slight grief, and they all start in.

Amarant easily picks up the chopsticks but looks kind of wary around the sushi.

"What's the matter?" Kuja asks, blinking at the other.

"I don't eat sushi," Amarant drawls, "Raw fish is weird."

"You pansy," Lani groans. Unlike the others, she and Ruby have decided to use their hands – Amarant's not sure if you should do that, but he's good with chopsticks so it doesn't matter.

"Here," Kuja smiles, picking up a roll with his own chopsticks. "Do you trust me?"

"No," Amarant mutters.

"Feed it to him," Lani crows, "He's not going to do it otherwise. That bastard would rather starve than eat something _weird_!"

Amarant rolls his eyes but isn't surprised that Kuja follows through with Lani's orders, and easily slips his hand over Kuja's, moving his fingers and transferring the chopsticks completely into his care.

"That takes a talent I didn't think you had, Ama," Lani grins when the other easily pops the roll into his mouth. "What was that, anyways?" she asks Kuja.

He smiles, "Not sure. I think it was maguro?"

"What's that?" Amarant asks cautiously.

"Raw tuna."

He makes a face but swallows anyways, and then goes for the tamer California rolls.

Marcus is struck with sudden inspiration and taps out a beat on the table with his chopsticks.

"Soo-she," Zidane sings in an inappropriately high falsetto voice, "Makes the world go round! Soo_-she_!"

"This is their only time to get ideas for songs out," Kuja sighs to the other three, "Otherwise, they're up until three singing songs about videogames and Godzilla."

"Sounds like fun," Lani grins.

"It's got raw _fish_ and they swam in the sea, until one day I wanted some-"

"Soo-_she_!" the three chorus in that same high voice.

"So I picked up an eel and I threw it in the pot, and now I've got-"

"Soo-_she_!"

"The boss is going to come over here," Amarant grumbles, "And then we're going to get kicked out."

"Best or worst case scenario?" Ruby asks, blinking.

"I'm not sure yet."

Amarant settles himself back to listen to the others talk, once the impromptu song session has ended, and takes a few more rolls but keeps, for the most part, out of the way. Whatever possessed him to join in the festivities has passed and now he's left wondering what time it is, and when he can go.

But after the check comes, the group around him decides to hit up the roller coaster down on the beach, and for some reason Amarant is convinced to join.

It's only a few blocks down the street so they walk. Lani and Ruby take up the front, leaning against each other in what Amarant figures is either supposed to be drunkenly, sexually, or lovingly. Behind them is the band, Honor Among Thieves or whatever they're calling themselves, all chatting and occasionally gracing the sidewalk and passerby with impromptu songs. Then comes Kuja, trailing after to make sure his brother doesn't skip off or do anything stupid, and Amarant takes up the end of their line. He's used to it – the back is always the best and he gets a good look at everyone, though he pays the most attention to Lani and Ruby.

Having bisexual women friends? Definitely a plus in his book.

"You know, Ruby would probably invite you in if you asked," Kuja drawls, dropping his speed to match pace with Amarant. "She's a really _open_ person."

"I'm noticing that."

The silver-haired male smiles up at the sky, or maybe at the nothing just beyond the sky, and then says, "Thank you very much for coming."

"...You're welcome?"

Kuja laughs. "Don't sound surprised, _please_. You didn't have to come, but you did, and even though you probably just came because you wanted to get out, it means a lot to me." He blinks, adding, "And Lani. Her too."

Amarant frowns. "You barely know me. How can anything I do mean anything at all to you?"

Kuja shrugs. "I don't know. I tend to get kind of attached fast. I don't mean anything by that," he elaborates when the redhead looks at him in mild confusion, "I just mean... I don't know. I don't like awkwardness, I'm sorry."

"Most people don't."

They see the rickety old rollercoaster and the two girls in front make loud exclamations of getting first pick, dashing off down the sidewalk, laughing loudly and trying to race without getting too far ahead of the other.

"They're like little kids," Amarant mutters.

"That's a rather kinky opinion," Kuja grins, "Considering you were just watching them rather intensely." A beat, and then, "You're not going on the coaster, are you?"

"No way in _fucking_ hell."

"That's a shame." Kuja sighs, "I guess I'll have to go alone, then. Zidane hates this rollercoaster," he tells Amarant, "So you'll have to babysit him for me, if that's alright."

"I don't care. If you don't mind he's not in one piece when you get off that deathtrap."

"I think you could only improve," the other male laughs. They reach the gates and Lani's already bought tickets for her and Ruby, and motions for the others to get their own. Zidane and Amarant stay out of the way and the group gets into a line, waiting for the next ride to start.

Zidane yawns lazily and goes to a bench across the way from the coaster, and Amarant looks around a bit. It's like a tiny carnival, with some rides and an arcade with ancient games in it, and he's only been here a few times before, when he was a lot younger.

He finally sits next to Zidane as the rest of the group gets onto the coaster, and the blonde grins. "Gotta give my band mates some space, you know?" He motions to Blank and Marcus, who are both teasing each other and trying to decide where they're going to sit. They take the far back. "They're so stupid sometimes."

Amarant shrugs, "Nothing wrong with the back."

"No, not _that_. Jeez, didn't you see? Marcus digs Blank, one hundred percent. It sucks being surrounded by UST."

The redhead raises an eyebrow. He _hadn't_ seen it – because he wasn't looking. Now he wonders if there's more to this whole group than he previously thought.

"You were saying something about going up to a ranch with Lani, right?" Zidane cuts into the other's thoughts, earning a quick glance in his direction.

"Yeah, so what?"

"Do you think you could take Kuja with you?"

Amarant blinks, and then turns to look fully at the blonde. "Why the hell would I do that? I barely know the guy."

"_You_ wouldn't have to ask him!" Zidane waves a hand, "I just want him out of the apartment for a little while. His neatness and crap really distracts my creative processes."

"You want him gone so you can have _parties_."

"Can you blame me? Besides, Lani will do all the asking, all you have to do is agree." The blonde grins, "Don't you want to make my brother happy?"

"He looks like he's doing a fine job by himself."

Zidane looks over to the rollercoaster where, indeed, it does seem that his brother is quite content with sitting behind Lani and Ruby, who have their heads half tilted in and turned to him so they can talk – or, rather, scream – to each other. He's got a grin on his face that's noticeable all the way off the ride.

"You'd be surprised and how good my brother is at acting."

It's said kind of melancholy-like, so Amarant looks at the blonde in confusion. The hyperactive kid isn't smiling so much right now, and kind of looks depressed.

"We have a sister," he mumbles. "Or... Well, she's in a boarding school right now. After mom and dad got divorced, she kind of couldn't handle it." The redhead doesn't know why the hell Zidane's telling him this, but... he understands. Sometimes, you have to get it out. "Dad let mom send her away, and he got so wrapped up in work... He was supposed to run the store, instead of Kuja and me, but his 'real job'," Zidane air-quotes the phrase, "Got in the way. So we took it over. It's leased in Kuja's name and everything."

"Why don't you live with your dad?" Amarant asks, not meaning to get into it but curious nonetheless.

Zidane winces and runs a hand through his hair. "I... he's not someone you live with. He's the face on the checks for Kuja's tuition and rent, not really a father. Kuja didn't have to twist my arm or anything to move in after he got the apartment."

The older male looks out at the rollercoaster, which is going into it's second and final run. "When did Lani and Kuja meet?" he asks.

"Nearly the first day of college," Zidane grins now, "From what I've gathered – I take both of their words a little lightly, you know, only way to handle them... Apparently, Lani walked up to Kuja and just kind of asked him, you know."

Amarant smirks. "Wanna fuck?" he suggests.

"Basically."

"That's Lani," Amarant sighs, leaning back and looking at the sky.

"How did _you_ meet Lani? No offense, man, but she seems attracted to more of the..."

"Gay type?"

"Pretty much."

The older male shakes his head. "High school." He grins, "I walked up to her and asked 'wanna fuck?' Haven't seen the end of her yet."

Zidane laughs and then jumps up as the roller coaster comes to a stop, "I think you'd be good for Kuja." He turns to look at the surprised redhead, "Lani made him a lot... he can handle stuff now. And I'll bet having a _male_ Lani around would only help him more."

Amarant frowns. He never really thought of it like that – _him_, like Lani? He was thinking _Kuja_ was like her...

The group is coming over to them, though Ruby looks a little tilted and is leaning against Lani heavily. "We're gonna go," the blue-haired girl says, smiling, "I've had all the fun I can stomach."

"Poor baby," Lani coos. She looks at Amarant, raises an eyebrow, and asks, "Do you wanna come?"

He blinks in response, looking at the two women. Maybe he's trying to save face, or maybe he's looking for a scapegoat, but he glances at Kuja. The other is looking at the sky with a meaningless smile on his face, arms crossed behind his back and eyes blank. Weirdly blank, like he's forcefully making them so.

"...I'll pass," he mumbles.

Lani makes a noise and he looks directly at her. She shakes her head and then grins, "Alright. Your loss, Red – I dunno if this is a one time deal."

"Aw, honey," Ruby drawls lightly, "It ain't ever gonna be a one time deal for yer friend here." She winks at Amarant, "Yer welcome _anytime_."

He grins, "I'll take that offer up sometime soon." He shakes his head, "My stomach is getting upset just looking at you. Lani, for fuck's sake, take her home before she pukes everywhere."

"I ain't gonna puke," Ruby pouts but Lani simply pulls her slightly, and they go staggering off out of the park.

"You just blew off a night with two women!" Blank exclaims, eyes wide. "Do you just get laid _that often_!"

Amarant gets up and gives Blank a glare that could ice blood if he had been more serious about it. "Do you want to give up your left ear and an eye?"

Zidane rolls his eye and then says, "Well," and effectively disarms the conversation. "Let's go into the arcade, okay? Come on," he starts to bounce, grabbing the hand of both Marcus and Blank, "I can't sit out here all night without stretching my fingers!"

The blonde easily pulls the other two in with him and leaves Amarant and Kuja alone.

Kuja finally looks down from the sky and his eyes are still weirdly blank, his smile still on but more curious than anything. "Why didn't you go with them?"

Amarant shrugs, now realizing that the sky is pretty interesting. "I dunno. I guess I just... didn't feel like it."

"A man denying himself a sexual fantasy?" Kuja laughs and it sounds hollow. "Sounds like you have an ulterior motive."

"I don't," Amarant snaps, feeling kind of defensive. He looks away from the sky and back at Kuja. Lani has left and so has Zidane, and it wouldn't be too weird of him to ask himself. After all, he can just say he wanted to pay him back for taking him to the club and taking him to their group dinner and being nice even if he barely even knows Amarant at all. Even if a few years ago Amarant would have punched a guy for looking at him like Kuja is doing now.

"...How does your class schedule look for the next week?"

* * *

Congrats, Tyler, you made it this far! 


	6. Cliffs of Dover

A/N: YAAAY plot.

I've never tamed a wild horse. I've been to wild horse auctions, so I know how they act to some degree, but the most I've been able to do concerning some of the topics in here is look up shit on Google and make my own theories based on the little I know about horse mentality. SO, if you give a shit, and know what I've done wrong, please tell me.

You'll notice some similarities between the things happening and things that occur in this one video game...

* * *

This is how life should be, Amarant decides, nodding his head along with Lani's favorite Cake CD. Windows down, middle of nowhere highway, with no buildings or city around and just the dry-grass half-desert to watch. 

Lani is in the passenger seat, talking animatedly with Kuja, who's smiling at her with that same meaningless smile from a few nights ago but with feeling in his eyes. Amarant usually doesn't focus so much on one person's expression, preferring the whole picture to the individual pieces, but Kuja is one of those people where if you see him, you have to really _look_, or else you won't get the true meaning of the things he says or does.

Lani laughs loudly and pokes Amarant. "You look so serious! Come on, Red, smile or something."

He grimaces and she laughs again. Kuja leans in and looks at the redhead. "I'm only going to ask once – did my brother put you up to kidnapping me?"

The truth is that Amarant didn't kidnap the other at all. He suggesting that he should come out with him and Lani, and Lani had found out the next day, and had promptly convinced the other to come. He had just put it out there, because he "didn't want to take his girlfriend away."

"...Maybe a little," Amarant admits.

"I _knew_ it. If I come back and my apartment's trashed, that little jerk is going to get it." He pokes the driver, "And you _too_. I should call the police tonight and have them check."

"I don't think it'll make a difference, Kuj'," Lani sighs. "Your brother will get away with it. He's got Ruby's number on speed-dial and she knows how to get anyone out of anything."

Kuja pouts and flops back into his seat. "How much longer?" he asks, not anxious but just curious.

"Mm... Half an hour," Amarant responds dully, putting an arm out the window. "How'd you two get out of classes?"

"I wasn't going to go, anyways," Lani waves a hand, "Set isn't my thing."

"Hilda is a very laid back professor and I only have her class this week," Kuja yawns. "She lets you leave for weeks on end if you need 'fashion experience.' I just told her I was going to New York – you know, fashion-central? She gave me her blessing."

"That's real underhanded," the redhead drawls, "I wouldn't expect it from someone like you."

"Someone like me? Don't I look innocent enough?"

The silver-haired male bats his eyes and Amarant rolls his, "You look _insane_."

"You can't be innocent and insane?"

"Kuja," Lani grins, "You couldn't pull off innocent if you _tried_."

The other sighs, "I know. It's a shame I'm so damned evil."

Amarant snorts and flips to the next track. He likes this – not necessarily everything about it but he likes the atmosphere they're creating between them. Lani's always been close and Kuja seems okay with taking second place to her, sliding easily into the groove Amarant and the girl have created over the years. Maybe they're all just too alike not to get along.

Kuja sits back and closes his eyes, looking to be asleep, and when Lani times his breathing to find that he is, at least, napping, she leans over to Amarant and asks, "I thought Kuja didn't make you gay?"

"What? He didn't." Amarant glances to her.

"Then why are you being so nice to him? I mean, I _know_ you. You're _never_ this cool with strangers."

Amarant looks back at Kuja and then shrugs. "I don't know. I just... He doesn't _feel_ strange. He... I don't know, Lani, why the hell are you asking me deep questions?"

"It doesn't _have_ to be deep, babe," Lani stretches, "This desert always makes me tired. How much longer?"

"Like I said, half an hour... less, now."

"I hope Cid isn't going to mind us being there."

"Probably not. You know he loves the idea of a pretty girl hanging around the ranch. Kuja will just be a bonus."

The CD ends and goes to the next one in the disc-changer. Oasis flows through the desert and the truck and Lani rolls her window down, leaning her head against the doorframe and closing her eyes against the warm wind. Amarant affords her a soft look – he doesn't normally feel so _fuzzy_ around the girl but today has been the exception.

"Thanks," she mumbles, "I'm glad we're still friends."

"We're always going to be friends," Amarant sighs, "It's my punishment for being an asshole."

"Ha, ha."

* * *

The ranch isn't particularly large. It's fair sized for it's purpose – horses – and it's in a prime spot because of the town just a few dozen miles beyond it. People who come to the ranch – Madain Sari – usually come to buy one of the wild horses that people like Amarant come to _tame_. The redhead never understood why people would want to buy some of the rowdiest, easily-spooked horses the country has to offer, but he doesn't mind because it just means one less for him to worry about. 

They pull up into the parking lot – which isn't really a parking lot at all, just gravel with white pebbles poured into somewhat straight lines for parking spots – and Amarant swings into one of the haphazard spots.

He gets out and the two follow quickly.

"Hey! Yer gonna hurt yourself!"

Amarant turns to see one of the large trucks carrying bales of hay parked just beyond the lot, and a few hands starting to unload. One of them – a redhead with deeply tanned skin – is pulling off two at a time. A third bale – on top of one the redhead is trying to remove – starts tumbling down towards the hand, earning a startled swear and a leap back. All three bales crash to the ground, one splitting apart.

"Fucking hell," Amarant growls, "I'll be right back."

He stalks over to the other hand and smacks him upside the head. "You moron, stop showing off," he snaps, grabbing the two unbroken bales. "Goddamn, Gilgamesh. Leave the heavy work to me and just do what your scrawny arms chan handle."

"Hey," Gilgamesh drawls, "I didn't know you were coming out this week. What's up – _hey_," he grins now, "You brought Lani! And...?"

The other hand's face goes blank – that purposeful blank that people put on when they don't want to show any emotion – and Amarant looks over his shoulder. Lani and Kuja are talking, and Lani's pointing out towards the stables, probably telling him what, exactly, is going on.

"What? You know him?" Amarant asks, turning back to Gilgamesh.

"Uh... yeah, I know him," he mutters, crossing his arms.

"Stop being a dick," the older hand growls, and carries the two bales to the silo.

He comes back and now Lani is standing off to the side, with Kuja and Gilgamesh talking. Gilgamesh looks really forcefully at ease, and Kuja looks so uncomfortable...

"What's up?" he asks Lani once he reaches her.

"...I forgot Gil was here." She looks at Amarant sideways, "...He and Gilgamesh had a thing."

"Really?" The redhead smirks, "I didn't know he was gay."

"He _isn't_, that's the thing. It -"

Kuja turns to them and Amarant's surprised to see Kuja look so _relieved_ to see him. He quickly steps beside them and smiles forcefully at Gilgamesh. "It's nice to see you," he says.

Gilgamesh shrugs and Amarant rolls his eyes. "Go finish unloading the truck, you fool."

"Yes _sir_. Jeez, you order me around too much," the other grumbles, trudging off to do what he's been asked.

Amarant turns to the two. "I gotta go see Cid, but then we can go to the cabins. We might have to share."

"No problem," Lani waves a hand. Kuja's looking over at Gilgamesh with this really... defeated kind of look. Lani sees it and puts a hand on his shoulder, earning a quick smile and a nod.

"Sounds alright with me."

The three walk to the long main house – "That's Cid's place," Lani tells Kuja, who nods – and Amarant effectively kicks the door open.

"Who in the – _Amarant_, what'd you know."

Cid is a thin, old man with black-streaked gray hair and a large, bushy mustache – he vaguely resembles a frog, but only because of his facial structure. He stands and Amarant grins to see he's still wearing his suit.

"Just get back?" he asks, reaching over to shake the old man's hand.

"Nah," the other shakes his head, "I just haven't gotten a chance to change. Been around for almost a day." He finally sees the other two and smiles, "Ah, you brought Lani! And...?"

"Oh," Amarant mumbles, "This is Kuja."

"Nice to meet you," Kuja smiles.

Cid nods, still smiling, "A pleasure. You know you gotta share the cabin with these two, Amarant?"

"Sure," the redhead waves a hand, "No big deal."

Cid nods again and reaches over, grabbing a key off of a rack, "Here you go." He tosses Amarant the key and the younger man catches it easily. "Go show them to the cabin and then help Gilgamesh with upkeep. The damned kid has no idea what he's doing."

"I saw that. He overshot himself again." Cid groans and Amarant smirks, "I'll go keep watch in a minute. Thanks, Cid."

"No problem, Coral. Just don't hurt him _too_ badly. He's the only consistent hand I've got."

Amarant shrugs and leads the two back out. Lani tells him that Cid looks just like the professor Cid _she_ has, and that she didn't really notice it until he saw Kuja and gave that weird smile. Kuja supplies that maybe they're related and this wouldn't be so far-fetched.

They reach the cabins and Amarant unlocks the one furthest from everything, pushing the door open and letting the other two go in before him.

"It's not _dusty_!" Lani observes, "They must've just cleaned."

"Nice," Amarant nods.

"There's only one bed?" Kuja asks, mildly confused.

"Yeah," the redhead shrugs, "Cid doesn't give doubles out to hands, especially me."

"What, Kuj', you're not excited that you get both of us in bed with you?" Lani asks, grinning.

The silver-haired man rolls his eyes and immediately turns to Amarant. "You're okay with that?"

"I don't care," he responds, "It's not a big deal. I _hate_ sharing Lani," he chuckles, "But I think I can trust you."

"No you can't!" Lani exclaims, "He's going to ravish me!"

"You'll need to give me a lot more alcohol to get me to do anything of the sort," Kuja tells her, dead serious, before laughing, "Go do work, would you? That Cid is going to yell at us."

"Nah," Amarant shrugs, going to the door anyways, "He doesn't yell. Make yourselves comfortable, alright? I'll see you later."

"Can we go to the stables, or are they off limits this time?" Lani asks, flopping onto the bed.

"...I dunno. Probably. Just don't _touch_ any of the horses, would you? It took forever to calm that last one down..."

"I can't help if my wild and adventurous spirit makes the horses yearn for freedom!"

"_Right_. Just don't touch anything." Amarant leaves the two alone and tries to figure out how, exactly, he's going to last a week sharing a room – a _bed_ – with the other two.

* * *

Amarant always works longer than almost all of the other hands – because he doesn't get a chance to come out nearly as much as he wants, and so he doesn't get a lot of money for working regular shifts. So he pulls overtime and by the time he's done filling water barrels and calming down some of the tamer horses for the night, the sun has set and the dark blue from the upper sky is slowly coming down towards the ground. The stars are a lot brighter out here and the redhead takes a long while walking back, watching the night above him and listening to the shouting in the distance from the permanent hands in the middle of poker or something. 

The cabins all have long, wide porches and Amarant climbs the stairs slowly, back already starting to complain. He's been away for too long.

A glance to his side and he sees Kuja leaning against the wall, with Gilgamesh standing close – too close for a guy who always talks about his latest girls – in front of him, talking to him in a quiet, white-noise kind of voice. Kuja catches Amarant's eye and almost moves to go to him, but Gilgamesh chuckles and says, "He isn't going to do anything with you, so you don't try or he might punch you," in a low voice and Kuja flinches slightly before leaning back against the wall again.

Something about Kuja's expression sets Amarant on edge and he goes into the cabin, closing the door and looking at Lani, who's laying on the bed and watching basic cable.

"Are they still out there?" she asks.

"Yeah," he nods, going to the bed and laying down next to her. "What's their thing?"

"...They had a... a messy break up. Kuja..." Lani frowns, "Kuja has a lot of issues, you know? And I don't mean anything bad by it, but... he has problems with relationships and attachment, ever since his parents got divorced." She shakes her head, "No, from before then. Zidane says he was worse before he and I were friends."

"So why are you in here, instead of beating the shit out of Gilgamesh? Which I know you'd _adore_ doing."

"...It's not my problem," the girl sighs, "I'm playing Sweden, you know? I don't want to make things worse – or baby him. Kuja can handle himself."

Amarant nods and kind of watches the television, trying to discern the voices outside from the ones inside.

* * *

Lani isn't joking when she says that Amarant is an animal person. He _loves_ animals – not just dogs and horses, but lizards, snakes, insects... He has a favorite for every type of animal, but only Admes gets the title of favorite _animal_. 

He hates leaving the dog home with his dad, but what can he do? Cid doesn't like dogs with the horses – they tend to spook easier with barking canines around – and Amarant wouldn't want to risk the dog getting his head cracked in by a pissed off horse.

Speaking of horses...

He's sitting cross-legged in the center of one of the compounds, flipping idly through one of the magazines that had been stashed in the corner of the cabin. A young palomino mustang is nervously trotting between one side of the large pen, ears switching between straining forward and falling back flat, eyeing Amarant with one of those "don't do something stupid" looks that almost all horses give him at first.

He looks up to see him starting to come closer, shrugs, and goes back to reading.

Horses are the easiest herd animals to read, in Amarant's opinion. Once you know how to look, they're worse than humans when it comes to hiding expression. This one, in particular, is a recent addition to the ranch and hasn't had time to figure out how to react to anything yet. So instead, he's reacting to _everything_.

Fair enough. Amarant's been able to do absolutely jack shit to a horse like this and have them all over him in less than a day. Lani called it "animal magnetism" and that really makes Amarant chuckle.

"Hey!"

The horse whinnies and jumps back from Amarant, who turns to glare at Gilgamesh.

"What?" he asks, voice quiet and even because _fuck_ Gilgamesh, he's completely calm and not at all dangerous.

"Where's Kuja?"

"You're spooking horses trying to find _Kuja_?" Amarant growls, "I don't fucking know. Go away."

The other hand shrugs and crosses his arms, turning and slouching off towards the barn. The kid is always thinking with everything _but_ his brain.

Another ten minutes pass and Amarant looks up to see the mustang less than five feet away. He smirks now, and puts the magazine in his back pocket, putting his hands on the dirt and pushing himself up, standing. The horse makes a startled noise and backs off slightly, but Amarant went slow and will keep going slow, even when-

Feet snap a few dead branches around the compound and the horse jerks its head around, looking for the source. Amarant follows his lead and spots Kuja half leaning against the railing, watching both him and the horse in quiet contemplation.

Now partially surrounded, the mustang tosses his head, looking from Amarant to Kuja and wondering which, precisely, would be the least frightening to confront.

"I'm sorry," Kuja says quickly, noticing the horse's dilemma, "I didn't mean to-"

Amarant clicks his tongue and the horse gives him that "what do _you_ want" look, before coming just shy of his outstretched hand.

"It's okay," he tells both the horse and Kuja.

Kuja stares and the horse does the same, and then the horse shakes his head, back stepping a little but letting Amarant lean to the side and put a hand against his neck, before jerking back and trotting over to the side of the pen opposite both humans. Amarant shrugs and comes over to the fence, leaning against it and looking to Kuja.

"Gilgamesh was looking for you," he tells the other, whose face goes quietly blank.

"I'll find him later. Lani wants to know if we're going to dinner in town, or not."

"I'm staying here late, so you guys do what you want. She's got money, doesn't she?"

"I think so. I hope Zidane isn't destroying my apartment," Kuja mutters, looking annoyed.

"I doubt it. The kid's probably too busy writing emo songs about his girlfriend."

Kuja laughs. "Knowing him? It's probably not far from the truth."

* * *

Garnet looks out her window, tapping her pencil against the binding of her math notebook, pre-calculus work spread out in front of her like some kind of horrible dragon. 

It's been nearly four days since that disastrous "first date" with Zidane, and she can hardly think of anything but him. Steiner didn't have to punch her boyfriend – no matter how upset he was.

Her father had been lenient enough but her mother decided to ground her, and both forbade her to even _speak_ to the blonde boy – something she had a feeling was Steiner's insistence. _Why does he hate Zidane so much?_ Garnet thinks, biting her lip and looking at her cell phone. She had just gotten it back today, after her parents realized how much they _all_ relied on her having a phone, and she has yet to turn it on. She wants to check it, but at the same time knows that Zidane doesn't even have the number – and she only has his home phone.

"Garnet," she sighs to herself, "When did you become so _hopeless_?"

With a determined scowl, she flips the phone open and pushes the power button. The welcome chime sounds, and then the phone beeps twice – she has one voice mail.

Her heart leaps even if she knows it's useless, and she pushes the send button with worried hope, listening to her generic "This is Garnet, please leave a message" answering message... with a small note tacked on that says, "Zidane I'm so sorry" before it beeps.

She dials her password to her voice mailbox and listens to the electronic voice mumble off useless numbers of the call she had missed. Then...

"Know that I will _all_-ways love _you_," Zidane sings in a static-lined voice, "Even with _gray_ skies _a_-head... I will _all-_ways watch over-you... Even if the pizza boy takes you away."

"End of message."

Garnet stares at her phone in confusion. "_Pizza boy_?" She shakes her head. Zidane never takes anything seriously...

The doorbell rings and she sighs, closing her phone and then turning back to her homework. She should just give up on it. On him. Whatever works best.

"We didn't _order_ any pizza..."

She blinks and then stands quickly, nearly knocking over her chair as she races through her room. She leans out over the balcony and sees the butler looking confused and slightly offended by the redheaded boy wearing a disheveled Pizza Hut uniform, holding a medium pizza in his hands.

"But I got the call from _here_..."

Suddenly, Garnet gets it, even as she calls out, "I ordered it." She comes down quickly, trying to avoid both of the gazes directed at her. "I was hungry, and we weren't having dinner tonight. I'll get it," she tells the butler, who nods and quietly walks off.

She rounds on the pizza boy, speaking in a low whisper. "What are you _doing_, Blank!"

"Delivering your pizza. Nice improvising, princess," he adds, grinning and handing her the box. "Have a nice night."

He turns and dashes towards the gate before she can say anything, and so she slams the door softly and heads to her room.

Once safely inside and with the door closed, she opens the box to find one cheese pizza and a Ziplock bag containing a sheet of paper.

She shakes her head and puts the pizza down, taking out the paper and unfolding it hastily.

_Meet me at your window in ten minutes – and bring the pizza. I'm starving!_

Garnet grins and quickly sits down to finish the last few problems in her book.

By the time she finishes two problems, it's been fifteen minutes, and she wonders if Zidane even knows what time it is. She goes over to the window and pushes it open, leaning out on her elbows and looking around.

"It sure is pretty out tonight, isn't it?"

She yelps in surprise and draws back, before leaning back out and looking to her left – Zidane is sitting on the roof beside her window, leaning back and looking up at the sky.

"Zidane!"

The blonde puts a finger to his lips and grins, "I don't think I want the old man hearing us."

"What are you doing?"

"Can't a boy come see his girlfriend to invite her to one of his shows?"

"You got a show?" the girl asks, smiling wide, "That's _great_! But – I can't. I'm grounded."

"Psh. Grounded? That means nothing to a delinquent such as I." He chuckles. "The show's in a week. I'm having a pre-show party, but you won't come to that. Instead, I'm gonna come here before the set and kidnap you."

He says it so easily and Garnet finds herself nodding before the magnitude of this plot hits her. "Kidnap me? Steiner will-"

"Let Honor Among Thieves worry about Steiner," Zidane yawns, waving a hand. "We'll get you out and you can see the show. Until then... How about that pizza?"

The girl gets the box and decides to leave the plotting up to the greatest thief in the world.

* * *

Fashion nugget. 


	7. The Dream Of Evan And Chan

A/N: Angst is fun to write. I've been planning parts of this chapter for a while... There'll be more to it later on. Everything in this chapter is important.

* * *

Amarant wonders why night in the desert seems almost brighter than in the city. Is it because the light is natural? Because the moon can light up everything, without buildings to get in it's way? 

Who knows.

He takes his time again, walking back to the cabins. He's glad for the time alone – after all the aggravation of earlier in the day, with Gilgamesh being rowdy and Lani spooking some of the shier horses, a little quiet moment is welcome.

"_Fuck you_!"

Doors slam in the distance, and Amarant looks around in confusion, trying to find the owner of the voice but unable to get anything out of the dark other than an echo in his mind. He hears a horse whinny back at the barn and a few kicks against wood – looks like he wasn't the only living thing to hear the swearing.

He shakes his head. It's none of his business – other than maybe pissing off the horses and some of the older ranch hands, there's no reason to go looking around for useless voices.

But the night is lit up by the moon and he can see someone moving quickly along the path away from the cabins, towards... anywhere. That's the exact direction the figure is moving, and he knows that when you're willing to go anywhere...

Moonlight hits silver hair and he changes his direction, picking up his pace.

Kuja stumbles and then falls to his knees up the path from Amarant, head hanging low and hands reaching up to claw at the sky, shouting obscenities at everything around him in a broken voice.

"Kuja!" Amarant exclaims quietly, not wanting to wake up the entire ranch but not wanting to sneak up on the other male...

Like a startled horse, the other male jerks his head up, looking around wild-eyed, trying to find Amarant who's really not trying to sneak up on him. The redhead circles a little and comes into Kuja's sight, then wishes he hadn't. The other is ragged and his hair is all over, face wet and slightly scrunched up and not at all calm and pleasant as it usually is.

"Go _away_!" he snarls in a broken voice, "Go _away_..."

"Kuja," Amarant shakes his head, "What..."

"I fucking _hate you_!"

The redhead blinks and then kneels in front of the other, "What happened?"

"_Fuck_... I just – I didn't want to, but – and I'm _sorry_..."

Amarant puts a hand on Kuja's shoulder, "You're not telling me shit. What happened?"

"Gilgamesh," Kuja moans, "Th... that fucker, I f-fucking _hate_ him – I'm not fucking egotistical, I'm not fucking shallow, I'm not-"

Amarant makes a mental note to punch the other ranch hand in the mouth even as he says, "You're not, don't worry. He's a moron. Don't listen to him."

"You don't even _know me_," Kuja mumbles, "You don't even know me – I'm on so many fucking drugs and shit you don't even _know me_ – I don't even know me, am I even real?"

"How could you not be real?" Amarant responds, shaking his head. "Come on... let's go back to the cabin."

"You _don't know me_..."

"I don't _care_ if I don't know you. You're one of Lani's friends, and unfortunately for you that means you're one of mine as well. Don't listen to Gilgamesh. Come on..."

Kuja leans forward and grabs Amarant tightly, a fresh wave of tears coming over him.

"Hey," the redhead mumbles, feeling suddenly very awkward. He's not a people-person, damn it, why does it seem like he has to be around Kuja? He puts a hand on the other's back, "It... it's okay." What else can he say?

"I can't let go," Kuja rasps against his chest, "I just... I can't – you don't know me, why do you care, why should I care? I'm always fucking clinging on, people don't even like me but I can't just let go-"

"Don't worry about it. I don't mind. Let's go back to the cabin. We'll go home tomorrow."

"No – no, you have to work, you can't just..."

"Ah, fuck it. Cid doesn't care, and I don't need the money. Let's go."

He helps the other up and they walk side by side across the sand. "I'm sorry," Kuja rasps, and his face is still scrunched up a little and he's trying really hard not to cry.

"It's okay." Amarant feels kind of stupid saying the same thing over and over again, but it works with people, who in the end just need constant reassurance. He smirks, "I didn't know you could swear."

Kuja sighs and then shakes his head. "I try not to... It's... stupid. I just... I haven't had a lot of – I didn't mean to ruin your life," he says honestly.

Amarant raises an eyebrow, looking to the smaller male, "Ruin my life? You couldn't ruin my life if you tried. It's hard to fuck train-wrecks up anymore than they've already done themselves."

The other doesn't respond and soon they reach the cabin, Amarant pushing the door open. Lani's laying on the bed, watching the evening news in dark room – she always likes watching TV in the dark – and when she sees them, she doesn't immediately notice anything.

"Hey," she says, before squinting to get a better look, because Amarant wouldn't put his hand on Kuja's shoulder for no reason. When she sees that Kuja's on that horribly stressful verge of tears, she pushes herself off the bed and comes over to them, wrapping her arms around her friend and doing that comforting thing that Amarant could never, ever do. "What happened?"

"I'll be right back," Amarant mutters, turning and leaving the cabin, closing the door softly and wondering if he should bother doing anything. After all, it's not like he knows Kuja much.

Kuja's a lot like Lani, except he's probably more of a hassle mentally. Ah, well. Amarant should have suspected that Kuja would have something wrong, to make up for not having Lani's womanly craziness.

Still, he rubs the back of his neck and takes to walking, because he's not in the mood to deal with consolation. He's no _good_ at it.

"Ain't never been no good," he mutters to himself, smirking.

He ends up at the cabin closest to Cid's place and so he decides to knock on the door and see how Gilgamesh is getting along. Anything that would fuck up a pretty controlled person like Kuja would have to have an effect on someone without the barriers.

But no – Gilgamesh answers it as if he knew who was on the other side, with a cocky grin and... "Not expecting me, particularly?" Amarant asks, because that cocky little smirk's been wiped right off the ranch-hand's face.

"...Nah, I wasn't. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Gilgamesh shakes his head, "Or to who, I guess. Kuja come wailin' to you?"

The hand turns and slouches into his cabin so Amarant follows, shutting the door behind him. "Could say that. What'd you do?"

"Ah, fuck," Gilgamesh waves a hand, "The fucker keeps trying to come on to me. It got real annoying, so I gave him a wakeup call, you know, 'cos I hate people who-"

Amarant grabs the front of Gilgamesh's shirt and drags him close. "_Don't_ mess with Lani's friends," he snarls in a very quiet voice, because who needs to be loud to be menacing?

Not Amarant, according to Gilgamesh's look.

"And from what _I've_ been seeing, he ain't the one hitting on _you_. Looked pretty vice-versa to me."

"Ah, fuck, Amarant, the guy looks like a chick. Can't help it, you know? Besides," Gilgamesh makes a face, "He's always so _clingy_. It's hard to push him away, y'know, without taking a little somethin' for the road, you know what I mean."

"No, not sure I do."

Gilgamesh laughs now, putting his hands on top of Amarant's, trying to kind of push them off of his shirt but not succeeding, "Oh, come on. A guy like that, he's not exactly one of those hard-to-get people. Tried to convert me, you know, make me jump the fence. Fuck, though... he's pretty hot, you know, for a guy."

"I'm 'bout _this_ close to socking you in the jaw, you get that?"

"Oh, come _on_. He hasn't tried to fuck you yet?"

Amarant socks Gilgamesh in the jaw. He _warned_ the fucker.

Gilgamesh stumbles back and swears loudly, putting a hand to his face and spitting blood onto the wood floor. "_Shit_, you asshole! Don't fuckin' maul me, just 'cos you aren't pretty enough to win Mr. Narcissist's ass in bed!"

"Do you really think insulting my _appearance_, of all things, is going to make me unnecessarily mad, punk?" Amarant cracks his knuckles.

"I'm getting why he's keepin' you around," the other grins, "You're like the fat chick, aren't you? Except _ugly_, instead."

Amarant rolls his eyes, "Oh, yes, I'm hideous, of course." He waves a hand, "What, are you trying to make me want to kill myself? Boo-hoo, some adolescent with his brain in his _dick_ thinks I'm ugly. If we're throwing petty insults, my face isn't nearly as ugly as yours is going to be, if you fuck with my friends."

"At least girls _like_ my face. Hell, your own mother probably doesn't even – oh, _wait_, that's _right_."

Amarant sends him one long, lingering warning look.

"Your mom's _dead_."

* * *

Amarant comes back to the cabin to find it still bathed in the glow of the TV and not much else, and as such, Lani again doesn't instantly notice anything. 

She squints and then gets off of the floor, coming to him with a completely foreign look on her face. "What the _hell_ happened to _you_?" she asks in a quiet voice, putting a hand to his chin and bringing his face down for closer inspection. "Is that _blood_!"

"It ain't mine," he grumbles.

"You didn't _kill_ anyone, did you?" She doesn't ask it in jest and Amarant wonders if he really looks _that_ bad.

"Don't think so."

"Come on, let's get you washed up, _jeez_..." She takes his arm and leads him into the bathroom, flicking on the light and causing him to wince.

When his eyes adjust and he manages to see again, he's surprised to find that yeah, he does look _that_ bad. His eye is already swelling and he's got a bloody nose – _hope to god it didn't break_ – and the left side of his face is bruising up pretty bad.

"That's going to look _sexy_," Lani grumbles in annoyance, opening the medicine cabinet and pulling out a first aid kit, "God damn it, Red, what'd you do?"

"Made Gilgamesh's face a lot uglier than mine."

"Defending Kuja's honor? I'm impressed, you usually don't play samurai."

Amarant rolls his eyes and winces when Lani starts cleaning his bleeding lip. "I'm not defending anyone. I just hate the punk."

"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice..."

"Shame on me. Yeah, okay, fine. Maybe a little defending. Most of it was just sport."

Lani shakes her head and gives him a wet towel. "Clean yourself up, would you? I hope you didn't kill Gilgamesh..."

"He was still bawling when I left, so I figure he's gonna live."

Lani makes an annoyed noise. "Kuja's asleep. Try not to wake him up when you come to bed, okay?"

Amarant nods, and Lani leaves the bathroom, shutting the door softly behind her and leaving the redhead alone.

Really, Gilgamesh hadn't put up much of a fight. It figures, though – any idiot who's stupid enough to make fun of a man's dead mother really wouldn't know how to react to the violent and brutal beating they receive.

What an idiot.

Amarant cleans off his face and he doesn't look that bad now – the bruise is still developing, and by tomorrow it'll probably be dark black and blue, and they'll have to bail early because no doubt Gilgamesh will tell Cid about the "completely unprovoked attack."

The redhead sighs and leaves the bathroom, flicking off the light and heading to the bed. The TV is still on but Lani's asleep – it's just their as background noise, to keep them from getting too into their own heads. She has her arm over Kuja and Amarant strips to his boxers, slipping under the covers on the other side of Kuja. He feels kind of awkward facing the other but doesn't have the energy to roll over – Kuja's face is kind of soft but his eyes are closed a little too tightly and his mouth is in too straight a line. "You alright?" Amarant asks, quiet because he doesn't want to wake Lani back up.

"...I'm alright," Kuja sighs, finally opening an eye, before blinking and shifting an arm out from under the covers, reaching over and touching the bruise. Amarant winces so the other pulls back a little. "That doesn't look very nice at all."

"A left hook to your jaw usually _isn't_ very nice."

Kuja nods slightly, and apologizes without saying anything, before touching Amarant's shoulder gently – like he's afraid to get hurt. Amarant hates that – everyone always assumes he's going to kick their ass for touching him.

"I'm glad you two invited me out," he mumbles, and Amarant wonders if it's a physical hurt Kuja's afraid of.

"Sorry about Gilgamesh," he responds. "I didn't know you two..."

"It's not your fault I have a shitty taste in men. Or that I'm an emotional train-wreck."

"Join the club."

Kuja smirks almost against his will, "Do I get a commemorative plate?"

Amarant chuckles and then, defying that little sane bit in his head that has been going "You Are An Idiot, Don't Do That" since day one, he puts his arm over both Kuja and Lani.

"Shut up. I'm tired from defending our honor."

Kuja looks like he wants to say something, and his eyebrows narrow like he's _going_ to say something, but instead he just nods, and carefully lets his own hand drop against Amarant's chest. The redhead doesn't smack him around for it so he smiles and mumbles a tired "goodnight."

Amarant wonders if he should be listening to the sane bit in his head.

* * *

"You're so _weird_, Vivi." 

Eiko Carol is not, by nature, a mean-spirited girl. She's actually one of the nicest kids in the school – if a little bossy. Vivi knows that she doesn't mean any harm when she calls him weird, and so he rightly takes no offense.

"Do you want to hang out after school?"

She also uses phrases that Vivi's only used to teenagers using, but that's another thing he doesn't hold against her. After all, ten is pretty close to thirteen, so they'll soon be teens, and she might as well practice now.

"I g-guess," he responds to her question, looking out over the yard. "I have to ask Miss Freya if it's alright..."

"You're always getting babysitted."

"I don't think that's the right word."

Eiko crosses her arms and scuffs her foot against the ground. "Whatever. I need help with my math – would you help me?"

Vivi manages a shaky smile, "You mean do it for you?"

Eiko looks aghast at the very idea, "Vivi, I would never! I've never been so offended!"

"Sorry, Eiko."

The little girl laughs and says, "Well, I guess if you're offering, I shouldn't turn it down. We have a Spanish test, remember?"

"Yeah..."

"No, you mean _sí_! Come on, Vivi, we should go study. You're obviously not prepared!" Never mind the fact that he has the higher grade in the class.

Vivi nods and adjusts his hat, following the skipping Eiko with cautious steps of his own.

* * *

Freya sighs and stretches, pacing across her apartment towards the ringing phone in her kitchen. She hates getting interrupted during her afternoon workout and she _hates_ phones even more, but that's the only way people can stay in touch, nowadays. 

"Crescent," she sighs with an air of someone with something much more interesting to do. She immediately gains interest, however, as Vivi's adopted father speaks up from the other end of the line. "Tonight? Oh... I have work, tonight, from six until close... No, I don't know..."

Suddenly, she gets a very sadistic, very mean idea.

"...You know, I think I might know someone who can babysit Vivi. Oh, yes, he's _very_ trustworthy." She smirks now, trying to keep the scheme in her head and not spill it to the unwitting father, "I think I know just the person..."

* * *

Kuja has filled his phonebook with nearly one hundred people – all varying from brief acquaintances, repeated visits, friends, and relationships (past, present, and maybe future). He's very proud of his extensive list, and he tends to give out numbers faster than he gets them. Anyone who calls his cell phone is immediately added to his list of numbers, and people who know this know to call him if they need a number. 

So Kuja answers his phone completely unwarily, used to the constant ring, while Amarant yells at Lani for poking his bruising face and telling her to stop switching the radio channels, damn it!

"Hello," Kuja laughs into the phone. He frowns briefly, then smiles again, "Hi, Freya!"

Amarant looks in the rearview mirror, "You actually have that crazy bitch's number?"

"...She says to let you know she heard that. And... Freya, I don't think that's a good idea – no, I don't know what he did to Vivi..."

"Oh, god," the redhead mutters, "She's still hung up on that?"

"...He _did_? No, he _wouldn't_. He hit him?"

"I didn't hit him!"

"Almost hit him? Wow, _really_? I guess that would be a fair – but, still, don't you think trusting... You want _me_ to suffer, too? No, I like Vivi, but..."

"What is she trying to do?" Lani asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I suppose... hold on, one moment Freya." Kuja puts the phone against his shoulder and says, "She wants Amarant and I to babysit Vivi."

"Is she insane?"

"Quite possibly. What should I say, Amarant?"

Amarant looks into the rearview mirror, and then shrugs. "I don't know. Whatever – not like I'm much good with a kid I nearly hit... Whatever you want to do."

Kuja nods, and then lifts the phone back up. "Freya? I guess we can. Tonight? Um... Yes. Sure. Text me the address, I don't have a pen with me, alright? ...Lovely. You owe me one – no, not Amarant, just me."

"That's not fair."

"Shut up, Amarant," Kuja drawls, before finishing with a fluid, "Alright, text me, bye," and snapping the phone shut easily. "Looks like you should put on your child-friendly face, Amarant, dear."

The redhead rolls his eyes, "Brilliant. Why did she pick us out?"

"She picked _you_ out because she's vindictive. I'm just coming along because Vivi knows me. Really, you picked the wrong time to nearly run over a little kid."

"I can't help it if the chick's a psycho! Fucking hell," he groans, "Why are women so _insane_?"

"Hey!" Lani exclaims.

"You aren't trying to refute the fact," Kuja deadpans, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

"Well, I'm _never_ hanging out with all men ever again," the girl pouts, crossing her arms and sinking into her seat.

"What are you _talking_ about?" Amarant asks, "You're dating a woman, you should be _agreeing_ with me."

Lani rolls her eyes and reaches over to mess with the stereo some more. Amarant yells and she responds in kind – Kuja sits back and tries to think happy thoughts.

* * *

bang bang. 


	8. Even Rats

A/N: Me? Take a long time? You're so silly.

I've just been busy with _End of Times_. Which you should read.

* * *

Amarant is not a kid-safe person by any stretch of thought – not just mentally, but physically. He's always been kind of blasé about everything, and ever since he reached puberty he hasn't really been able to tell what's appropriate for kids and what's not. He knows the basics. Still, he hates treating kids like they're young, but doesn't want to treat them too maturely.

Thank god Kuja seems to be good with kids.

Vivi has a friend over – a little girl named Eiko – and she's beautiful in her ability to drive Amarant insane without actually _talking_ to him, or even doing _anything_ to him at _all_.

Kuja flops down onto the couch next to the redhead and fumbles around with the remote, before flipping to the news. "I don't know why this morbid stuff interests people," the silver haired male sighs, "It's so depressing."

"That's why I stick with the Daily Show," Amarant mutters. "Where're the brats?"

"Upstairs, working on homework, supposedly. You know, that little girl seems smitten with you."

"I don't like kids," Amarant grumbles.

Kuja laughs and turns up the volume on the TV, and Amarant steals a glance at the other. He's been doing that a lot, lately – it kind of embarrasses him. After all, Kuja is, well... Kuja. But he's a people-watcher, and he can't help that the silver-haired fashion major is really just interesting to watch.

Ever since they left the ranch, Kuja's been looking a little... worn. As if he's on the constant edge of tears, but has molded that edge into his expression so it looks almost natural. Luckily, it's only been about a day now, and Kuja hasn't had any sleep, _and_ he hasn't talked to his brother. Amarant's sure that once he gets some rest and some brotherly love, Kuja will be fine.

But something Kuja said unnerves him. He hadn't considered that the other had been on medication of any sort, and the fact that he _is_ makes Amarant wonder if there's more to the seemingly two-dimensional fashion major than he originally thought.

Then again, he _had been_ kind of basing his idea of Kuja on the stereotypically gay male of current pop culture – something he _despises_, but still, a habit is a habit – and Kuja is anything _but_ stereotypical.

"Staring at me isn't going to keep you entertained for long," the object of Amarant's observation sighs, sitting back and crossing his arms, turning his head to the redhead, who is suddenly interested in the carpet.

"I wasn't staring."

"Could have fooled me. Look... Amarant," Kuja mumbles, looking at the television again – refusing to look at Amarant – "If anything I've said or done – especially last night – upset you or made you uneasy, don't leave me with the impression that it didn't. Or, even worse, don't send me mixed signals about it."

"I'm not..."

Well, maybe he is, just a little.

Kuja takes a breath, "And I just... thank you. For putting up with last night's _fiasco_. And, for, you know... Just not being like everyone else. Treating me stereotypically or anything... or different, because of what I said last night. Not a lot of people would do that, you know."

Amarant sighs and shakes his head. "What does it matter to me? You're one of Lani's friends," he tells the other, "So you're mine too. Get used to it, you'll probably be bailing me out of some nasty shit."

Kuja laughs a little, "What benefits." He then frowns, "But, Amarant. Don't give me titles like that when you've barely known me... two weeks? If that?"

"I don't hand out a friend title lightly," Amarant shakes his head again. "I'm not going to joke with you on that."

"...Thank you."

Amarant shrugs and listens to the report on how more children are being kidnapped this year than the past three years combined and wonders how long they'll have to worry about stupid things.

Eiko shouts from the top of the stairs, "Vivi, let's go!" and she comes running downstairs with the young boy in tow. "We're gonna go outside and play," she tells the two "adults."

"...Yeah, sure," Amarant waves them off.

"Letting them go out when we're listening to how kids are kidnapped all the time?" Kuja asks, raising an eyebrow, "That sounds a little..."

"I don't think anyone would _want_ to kidnap either of them."

Kuja nods in agreement, and then gets up, heading into the kitchen. Amarant finds his eyes straying in Kuja's direction and forces himself to look away, shaking his head. He keeps watching the other and he's starting to wonder if that's really... well, watching, or if it's more like... ogling.

Lani would pick the latter.

"Want something?" the silver-haired male calls. Amarant says no and so Kuja comes back with a pint of pistachio ice cream and two spoons sticking out of it. The redhead rolls his eyes as the other flops back down onto the couch and scoops out a generous portion, holding the pint out to Amarant in offering.

"I said no," he groans, even as he reaches for the other spoon. Kuja gives him a look and Amarant grins.

There's a shout outside and Eiko and Vivi come inside, looking put out, and the girl crosses her arms. "What are you doing, eating?"

"Yeah," Amarant tells her around the spoon. Kuja laughs a little.

"Well, that's great," Eiko huffs, "But there's some weird guys outside in a white Honda and they're just _parked_!"

The two "adults" look at each other and then Amarant shoves the spoon back into the pint, standing up and heading to the door.

"Give me a few," he says, ruffling the girl's hair and earning an annoyed squeak. He goes outside and looks down at Vivi, who's sitting on the steps and looking off into space, a funny look on his face. "You okay, kid?"

The boy looks up in alarm, and Amarant winces mentally. "I-I'm... I'm okay, sir."

"Don't call me sir, would you?" the redhead rolls his eyes, "Give me a moment, I'm gonna go talk to these fu-... guys."

Vivi nods and looks torn – should he be afraid of the strangers in the car, or the big, burly redhead who nearly ran him over? Amarant shakes his head and walks across the lawn towards the white Honda.

The two men inside look to him, and the one in the passenger's seat looks very suddenly afraid. Amarant's glad sometimes that he can look real intimidating... especially when the driver looks about to put the car in gear and race off.

The passenger's smart (or very stupid), and motions for the other to relax. As he rolls down his window, Amarant reaches the car, and he leans against it, putting one arm on the roof and leaning down to get a good look at the two. At first, he had thought they were some friends of Freya's – that crazy bitch probably had people come over all the time – but a quick look at the dirty, trashy interior proved otherwise. A girl like Freya, from what Amarant's gathered, wouldn't hang out with kids who looked like stoners without enough money for a car wash.

"So," he drawls, "Want to tell me what you're doing outside here?"

"Ahh..." One of them starts spilling out the best excuse he can come up with, "We were just... you know, chilling. Hanging out."

"Hanging out." Amarant raises an eyebrow. "Any reason you're _hanging out_ in front of this house in particular?"

"Nah, man," the driver says, picking up where his friend left off, "We just pulled up. Sorry, are we, like, blocking a driveway or something?"

Amarant frowns now, eyes narrowing. "You see that kid on the steps back there?" he asks, jerking a thumb at Vivi, who blinks in confusion. "You're kind of messing with his head. I'd appreciate it if you'd put your car in drive and get the fuck out of here, okay?"

The passenger gets some balls and says, "Hey, man, don't start anything, we're just chilling."

"Yeah? Well," Amarant growls, "I'd like it if you'd go _chill_ somewhere else."

"What, are you gonna call the cops on us?" the driver laughs.

"Nah, man," the redhead responds, grinning as well, "Nah, I don't think the cops are a good idea. After all, I can clean up messes pretty well on my own."

The laughter dies in the guy's throat and the passenger nods hastily. "Alright, man. Uh, we'll get out of here."

Amarant nods, "That's a good idea. You do that." He takes a step back and the car lurches, and the redhead watches them careen down the street, arms crossed and making sure his "vaguely-menacing" look is on.

"U-Um..."

Amarant turns, dropping the look flawlessly – no need to scare the kid, right? "What's up, kid?"

"...Who were they?" Vivi asks, kind of tripping to keep up with Amarant as he moves back towards the house.

"Don't know. Does your dad work with teenagers a lot?"

"N-No... Not really." Vivi frowns, "I mean... Did Ms. Freya tell you what he does?"

"No, what?"

Vivi messes with his hat as Amarant looks back to him. "H-He's... um, a mortician."

Amarant raises an eyebrow, then shakes his head. "That why he calls Freya over at random times?"

"W-Well, yeah."

"Fair enough." The redhead opens the door, "C'mon, kid."

Vivi nods slowly and then passes the other. Amarant smirks when he realizes that Kuja's sitting with Eiko, watching Spanish soap operas, and wonders if Freya is really a crazy bitch. After all, if she's one of Kuja's friends...

Yeah, definitely crazy.

* * *

It's late when Amarant gets home. Kuja had asked to stay at his house tonight – he wants to let Zidane finish up whatever he's doing at the apartment without interference – and so the redhead has agreed because hey, they've slept in the same bed before, right?

Kuja follows Amarant to his room and is extra careful to not step on the floorboards Amarant motions to, but nonetheless the redhead accidentally steps on one of these very squeaky boards, wincing as it creaks loudly in the dead air.

"Izzat you, 'rant?"

Kuja gets a glimpse of Amarant and is a little worried by the deer-in-headlights look his friend is wearing, before getting a glimpse of Amarant's father and promptly gaining the same look.

His father is by no means _average_ sized – behemoth would be the right word – and looks actually a lot like his son, only with a crew-cut, stubble, and blearier eyes. He kind of lurches but Amarant doesn't look surprised and simply says, "Yeah, dad."

"Thought you were stayin' at that shithole all week," the man mumbles.

Amarant winces slightly and looks really pretty annoyed at that but grumbles, "Nah, I came back early."

"Who'zat with you, kid?"

The deer-in-headlights look returns and Amarant glances at Kuja, "Uh, this is..."

"New girlfriend, huh?" The father chuckles even as the son's jaw drops, and he fumbles to respond. "Figured y' had to get over that Lani girl sooner 'r later. It ain't good t' keep holdin' on ta one woman, y'know."

"...Yeah, dad. Um, we're just gonna... uh." He looks at Kuja, apologizing for keeping up his dad's idea, but the silver-haired student simply nods.

"Yeah, yeah," the father grunts, "You go have fun. Jus' remember y'ain't the only one in the house..." He turns and lurches off down the hall, muttering to himself. Amarant practically grabs Kuja and drags him into his room, shutting the door firmly and locking it.

"...Sorry," he mumbles. "Didn't think he'd be up."

"It's okay," Kuja responds, grinning, "You thought I was a girl first, too, you know."

"I would have said something but-"

"Look, Amarant," Kuja laughs softly, "It's alright. It's not like he's going to see me around much, right? And, hey, now you have an excuse to get out of the house, huh?"

"What, that I have to see my girlfriend?"

Kuja holds up his hands noncommittally, "It worked for me with my dad."

"Your dad didn't know you were gay?"

Kuja smirks and gives him a look. "I hung around Lani all the time. Do you honestly think _anyone_ can be completely gay with a girl like her around? She's obviously told you we slept together, right?"

Amarant thinks to feign surprise but it doesn't work so he agrees. "Yeah, she told me."

Kuja finds a place on Amarant's desk chair, as he had when first visiting, and Amarant flops down onto his bed, almost letting out a groan of satisfaction as he does so. The damned kids had run him ragged – okay, just the girl, the boy had been fine – doing everything that Freya had told them _not_ to let the kids do. It started with eating stuff she wasn't supposed to, and then it escalated into doing pretty crazy experiments in the bathroom with all of Vivi's father's stuff.

And she had the gall to tell him, "You're fun! I'm telling dad to have you baby-sit me when he goes out of town!"

All with a grin on her face, even as she skipped off towards home.

"I told you that Eiko liked you," Kuja drawls, spinning a little in the chair before yawning. "I can't believe we stayed until eleven."

"Maybe your friend will leave me alone now," Amarant groans into his pillow, before sitting up and stretching, toeing his shoes off. "I'm fucking tired."

He takes off his shirt and begins working on taking his pants off without actually getting off the bed, when Kuja asks, "Where should I sleep?"

He looks over his shoulder at the other and shrugs. "The bed, I guess. We already shared a bed up at Madain – I doubt it'll make a difference here."

Kuja nods and looks around the other's room, before getting up to look at his bookshelves. Amarant finally manages to get down to his boxers and settles in bed, pulling the blanket around him and grumbling, "Turn off the light when you're done, okay?"

"Alright," the other mumbles, and so the redhead closes his eyes and tries to sleep.

It's not long before the lights go off, and Amarant feels the bed tilt a little as Kuja climbs in, making a very soft noise and then laying down.

The bed isn't really wide enough for someone like Amarant to share comfortably, but Kuja's kind of small so he fits alright. They both lay on their sides, facing away from each other, but Kuja's back is pressed against Amarant's and neither of them are really that comfortable.

It's been a _long_ time since Amarant's ever really shared his bed with just one person in a _non-sexual_ context. He reminds himself again, _non-sexual_, and agrees that no, it's not sexual in any way. Kuja just feels a lot like Lani.

"...Thank you," Kuja mumbles against the sheets, and Amarant doesn't roll over though he very much wants to.

"For what?"

"Just... for. You're putting up splendidly with me." Kuja sighs heavily and says, "I haven't done this in a long time."

"What?" Amarant asks, "Sleep in the same bed as a friend?" He forces friend out and stresses it.

"...not been alone."

It's quiet and soft and the redhead frowns, eyes looking across to the clock on the wall – twelve-thirty-seven. He doesn't say anything right away, and Kuja takes it the wrong way, saying suddenly, "Not that I'm alone, or anything. I didn't mean it weirdly – I just-"

Amarant chuckles, "It's alright, Kuj'. Go to sleep."

"...I'm so sorry," Kuja mumbles, and his voice sounds strained. "I shouldn't be around people."

"Yeah, well... Not a lot of people should be. But you are. Don't worry about it, you're fine."

Some minutes pass and Amarant can feel himself starting to drift off, when he feels Kuja's shoulders begin to shake.

_That does it_, he decides, rolling over carefully. "Hey," he rasps, "Come on, it's okay."

He realizes Kuja's not crying, but _laughing_. It's hysterical, half-sobbing laughter and his hands are over his mouth, and he's cracking the _fuck_ up. Amarant wonders what medication the other needs when suddenly the silver-haired man sits up and hunches over, nails digging into his cheeks.

"I'm going to be sick," he cries, laughter quickly dissolving into tears.

"Hey, hey." Amarant sits up and grabs the other's shoulders, "Calm down, breathe."

"I'm sorry," he whispers, prying his hands from his face, "I'm so sorry, I really should just go..."

"It'll be fine, relax." He's had his own share of burnouts before and while he never got this extreme around people he knows just how bad it can be. "Look, do you want me to take you home? If you want, I'll drive you home."

"I – I, no, no, I don't want to interrupt Zidane and his friends-"

"Hey, fuck your brother. He'd probably want you okay more than he'd want to party."

Kuja is silent and Amarant can make out red half-circles on his cheeks. He's pretty sure they haven't cut through, but who knows.

And then the silver-haired male turns on him and says, "What would you rather me do? Do you want me to leave? Is my friends status provisional, for when I'm not fucking crazy?"

Amarant frowns and shakes his head. "I just don't want you to be uncomfortable," he mutters, avoiding the last question because that's just paranoia talking now.

"What?" The smaller male tenses up and Amarant realizes quickly he's said the wrong thing. "You- jus.. I-I don't want to be comfortable, I can't be comfortable, you don't understand are you just like fucking Gilgamesh?"

Kuja's out of Amarant's grip and out of the bed, backed against the door in seconds.

"You just- you're just trying – I don't know, why am I always –"

Amarant doesn't stand, doesn't move. He just sits there and says, "You know I'm not like Gilgamesh."

Kuja's shaking and then he puts a hand to his mouth and says, "I'm so sorry Amarant, I'm... I'm just not alright I'm really fucked up and-"

"I don't mind," he tells the other honestly, because it's better than being nothing at all. "I'll take you home, okay?"

"I... I um... I'd rather just stay here," Kuja mumbles, crossing his arms over himself and looking at the floor. "If... if that's okay? I just... I was thinking too much and it..."

"Hey, it's alright, I don't mind. Come on," he waves his hand towards himself, "I'm not going to do anything like Gilgamesh. I'm not going to stop being your friend just because of some emotional shit. You can take the bed, I'll stay on the floor, if that'll make you feel better."

Kuja watches him for a long time and he's reminded of a wild horse more than ever. He says the words he thinks the other wants to hear: "I promise."

"...Don't... don't," the other rasps, "Don't do that. Don't make promises." He comes forward nonetheless, climbing into the bed before Amarant can move, reaching out and touching his shoulder.

"I won't make ones I can't keep," Amarant mumbles, thinking even then that Kuja looks as afraid as before. "Don't worry about that. Here." He wraps an arm around the smaller male and doesn't wince when Kuja's nails dig into his shoulder a little. "I'm not going to do anything except keep you from falling on your ass if you roll out of bed."

The other stares at Amarant as he situates them both under the covers, and then almost laughs.

"I don't think you know what you're doing, Amarant," he sighs, closing his eyes anyways.

"Who cares if I don't. Go to sleep, Kuja, you're going to have to clean up your brother's mess tomorrow."

An unintelligible response is all the other receives and he allows himself the comfort of sleep.

* * *

...I heard that when you cut off an extremity it regenerates back a little bigger...Don't believe it. 


End file.
